War of Ideals
by Aminti
Summary: Sequel to Evolving Stratagems. When ideals clash, truth is often their first victim. In a Hoenn beset by distrust and attacks, Max and Danny have to cope with learning that lesson. As bonds are shattered and remade, can they keep hold of what is important to them, or will they fall victim to the chaos of conflict?
1. In Medias Res

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

 **Author's Note:** This is the third installment in the series started by Wanderlust and continued in Evolving Stratagems. If you haven't read those, it might be better to read or at least skim those first. As a quick reminder, the series diverged after AG192, and the AG-or-earlier cast is aged up by two years across the board. This makes Max thirteen-and-eight-months at the chronological start of the story, but this short prologue is situated somewhere else in the story, as the chapter title implies.

* * *

 **Prologue** **: In Medias Res**

Sweltering heat caused sweat to pool on Max's brow as he finished collecting a good haul of berries. The basket was nearly full to overflowing, filled with Oran, Bluk, Pecha, and even an early few Colbur Berries. He'd put those on top so he could separate them: both of the other two he was travelling with hadn't liked them before, but Max really liked the bitter and sour fruit, and when he'd spotted a tree with them, he'd instantly walked over to see if some were ripe.

Overhead, the sun was playing hide and seek with increasingly larger and darker clouds, making him suspect there would be a thunderstorm before the late spring evening was out. That was not an issue, nor would the rain be. There was plenty of psionic potential on his team to shield them while setting up a tent and manectric would probably lick him silly for allowing her to be out catching lightning. Hopefully before actually going to do that, or else Max would get a static shock.

Waking up, casually bringing a hand to manectric's nose, and then jolting upright was still one of the worst ways Max had ever woken up, and that list was getting ridiculously varied after close to four years of travelling here and there, as a hanger-on and as a Trainer.

When a friend's Pokémon using Yawn on you for pranking purposes didn't even rate somewhere in the top dozen… You knew it was a wild list.

Hopefully, the thunderstorm wouldn't hinder them from reaching Carnation Town the next day. It was right on the edge of what was probably possible to reach in a day, what with Danny's shoes still being new, and Max was itching for a Gym Battle. It hadn't been too long since Blackthorn, sure, but this was the first Fairy-type Gym he would ever visit, rounding out the eighteen Types in all of his travels.

Sure, it was an arbitrary milestone, but it was still one.

He heaved the basket into the air, starting his walk back to their hopefully set-up camp after his momentary reverie. He wasn't too sure how far out he was, but it had only been forty minutes or so since he'd left the others.

For a moment, he thought about asking for a Teleport, but he decided against it. A bit of time alone never hurt, and it was still only like five in the afternoon. None of them would starve if Max was a bit late on getting these berries back for dinner, dessert, and more than a few Pokémon snacks. The heat was a point against it, but it was a forested area, meaning that there was lots of shadow to go around to shelter from the worst of it.

About twenty minutes and a quick dispatching of a couple of hungry Pokémon later, Max noticed a tree he had on the way out; an old cypress that had grown into the heavens, with roots that threatened to trip you over if you didn't pay attention. Max hadn't overly much earlier, but he'd stayed on his feet, and this time, he avoided them entirely, stopping momentarily a moment after to rub his forehead with one hand. Some kind of headache had popped up in the last few minutes, and he wasn't sure what it was from. He'd thought he'd drunk enough water, and he didn't have any allergies or anything…

He shook his head, noting that the pain didn't become worse like it had when he'd had that bout of sinusitis around his birthday. Probably not enough to drink, then. It was a warm day, and maybe he'd lost too much fluid somewhere. He'd have to drain a bottle of water and suffer through it until the hydration kicked in, then.

He resumed walking, entering a delightfully warm clearing about a minute later. The oppressive heat somehow didn't reach here, and instead, it was the kind of warmth that instantly made Max yawn.

One yawn followed another, and Max felt himself stumble, berries flying everywhere as he lost grip of the basket, ground rushing up to meet him.

Warmth. Shaking. Tightening. Cutting. Treebark. Rope.

Rope?

Max opened his eyes, and tried to move his body, only to find out that he was stuck. Bark pressed in his back, his arms wrapped around a young tree behind his back. He felt it now. "Manectric! Sceptile!"

Nothing appeared. "Pokémon are funny," came a voice from his left; lisping slightly. Max's head swivelled, spotting five other humans and a few Pokémon. Two men, clad in clothing he felt he should recognise, were looking at him, and a third person – he couldn't tell the gender – was near his tied-up companions. "They instinctively detect when their trainers are in danger, but in the pokéball, it is crude. They can't detect the difference between falling asleep normally and… unnaturally." The brown-haired man grinned, showing a missing tooth. "We've waited a long time for this, Mister Maple. It's time to answer for your crimes."

That clothing was tantalisingly familiar, but the man's last sentence stopped Max's musing. "Crim…" he said before trailing off, realisation dawning. "You're from Hoenn?"

The second man snorted, though he didn't answer Max's question, instead signalling to the back. A machoke and a scyther moved forward, the Fighting-type heaving Danny onto his feet and taking him along. Unlike Max, he was blindfolded and gagged, and he didn't struggle too much as the machoke half-dragged him along. "You are not the one to answer questions," the first man said softly, snapping his fingers once. A careful slash of scyther's blade cut the blindfold. "Answer mine, or your friend will pay."

Danny seemed terrified, unwilling to speak as scyther pressed the tip of its blade into his arm. "What do you want?" Max spat, shaking his head to get rid of the sodding headache, without success.

"The location of that traitor Reginald, but you won't know that," the second man said, his voice gruff and raspy, like a smoker. "The Izabe gardevoir group. Where did they go?"

The hell if Max knew that. He hadn't asked, respecting their privacy. "You want to get them again?" he said, suddenly realising where and when he had seen the familiar black clothing before. "Use more ralts and kirlia for your machines?"

"It still stings, doesn't it?" came a reply, the first man speaking up again, almost crooning, leaning in. "It must have been _terrible_ , to arrive weeks too late to get your precious ordained starter. And it must have been even worse to find that Pokémon you once wanted to start with on the brink of death." A gloved hand cupped Max's chin, forcing him to look up into cruel eyes. "And you remember that, don't you? Perfect soul-rending agony," the man enunciated slowly, drawing the words out. "What did you say again? You'd rather face yveltal twenty times over?"

A harsh barking laugh followed as rage flared within Max at hearing his own words thrown back at him. He took a breath as deep as he dared with the man's hand on his chin, forcing himself to stay calm. "I'd rather face yveltal over telling you anything, bastard."

The hand moved to his throat; squeezing gently, but firmly, reminding Max of who was in charge. "Oh, yes, teenage bravado. How bland," the brunet said. "We know you don't overly care about yourself, Mister Maple. Your friends and Pokémon on the other hand..."

Danny let out a hiss, and the scyther lifted its other blade menacingly. "You tell us what we want, or your friends start losing blood." The other man walked over to Danny, grabbing him by his blonde hair. "So start talking, or he starts bleeding."

"Or we could work on your other companion. The young are always quick to squeal." The toothless man gestured towards the machoke, which started moving back. "What will it be, Mister Maple? Answers? Or blood."


	2. Long Overdue Repercussions

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Long Overdue Repercussions**

Norman Maple, recently forty-one, of Petalburg in Hoenn watched both of his adolescent children shuffle out of the living room. His daughter; the elder by two years and two months, headed towards the kitchen for a snack, while his younger son headed upwards to bed. Only a soft creak and Norman's chair being close to the door explicitly gave away that the thirteen year old had headed there, but it made sense. Despite the round-the-clock-length sleep the night before, and despite the nap that afternoon, and despite general teenage circadian rhythm shifts, Max had probably been dead on his feet after the interrogation that had lasted the better part of four hours. Norman himself was feeling a bit tired, though he had others to talk to.

After all, it hadn't been just the Maple family who were there. Gregory, Elizabeth, and Maxim Birch were quickly taking the youngest Birch home, not trusting him to make it all the way to his bed at the top of the house safely. In Danny's defence, he hadn't had the advantage of a nap, and the last thirty minutes had been him continuously nodding off to the point of Max having to field all of the questions everyone had about what had happened in Kalos on his own, with honestly surprising energy.

The Gym Leader looked up at his wife, spotting Caroline re-reading the letter that Max had produced at some point in the last hour and a half. Lance's letter. A letter from a Grand Champion, produced with almost casual aplomb. Norman was used to missives from important officials, but finding that such acceptance extended to someone a third his age was… Something he hadn't quite been able to find a name for. Disconcerting only covered half of the feeling. At that age, he'd been ecstatic just getting an autograph from a celebrity.

There was a notebook somewhere in storage that proved it.

He stood up, walking over to his wife, affectionately squeezing her hand as he leant on her chair, reading the letter along with her.

 _Dear Mr. and Mrs. Maple, Mr. and Mrs. Birch, Professor Birch, May Maple,_

 _By now, you will presumably have heard the tale of how the events of September 11_ _th_ _in Kalos unfolded. Between what Danny and Max told you and the known information out there, I suspect you are as much an expert on the day as anyone who wasn't in Kalos that day can be, given public information._

 _As you might expect, the public information isn't entirely correct. The notion that I was in Kalos by sheer luck is wrong, and that has to do with the teenagers telling the tale._

 _Following their Gym Battle with Anistar City's Olympia; the Kalos Psychic-type Gym Leader; they were told words of foresight. Olympia has extensive Psychic powers, and prophecy is amongst them. She gave each of the three teenagers, including their female companion, a message, and told them to heed it or "the world will pay the price." Given their experiences, both in Kalos and from Hoenn, they rightfully saw this as an attempt for Team Flare to incite something catastrophic._

 _And for reasons I do not myself know, since I didn't ask, they called me, and that made all the difference. You are aware that the Kalos Elite Four was compromised, and that any attempt to go through the League there would have been picked up. This direct contact allowed me to work in my capacity as leader of the Pokémon G-men and install operatives in the region. Not nearly as many as I would have liked, but the attack came sooner rather than later. I myself was there to confer with my Kalos counterpart on how to go about everything should the threat not materialise for a while._

 _This does not excuse their participating in the battle, but their presence, and their warning, saved innumerable lives, and the awards they received are extremely well-earned. They acted with the best of intentions,_ _and though they did things that I, like you, would have preferred them to not do, I can't find it in myself to be anything but thankful for their help._

 _Yours sincerely,_

The signature and sigil of the Kanto-Johto Grand Champion adorned the bottom of the page, the former in the same vaguely elegant script that the letter had been in, confirming that it was Lance who had written it, and not a secretary or something.

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions," came the voice of Gregory Birch from behind Norman, who failed to suppress his reflex to jolt up from the sudden sound. "Otherwise, good letter, explains everything neatly."

The inflection in his friend's voice told Norman that the slightly older Birch thought more of it than just that, but he pushed that away as he felt Caroline take a deep breath. "That… That explains why they were so out of it. Remember, Norman, that call somewhere in August?"

He had to dig into his memory, but it came to him regardless, and yes, they had noticed that the teenagers were looking more than bit peaky. At the time, they'd accepted the assurances that it had been a rather noisy night from some nocturnal Pokémon, but in that new light, and knowing how their sons worked… "They probably spent the weeks between the prediction and the actual event sleeping fitfully at best. At least, until one of them broke down and got some help somewhere."

"Or using Serena's swablu to aid them in falling asleep," Professor Birch offered as he sat back down in the chair he had been sitting in all night. His brother and sister in law moved to the sofa as well, and Norman only stopped to refill his water from the carafe. "I'm amazed they came out with as few injuries as they did in the end. Even counting the ones sustained and healed in Geosenge, they went up against a criminal syndicate and came out essentially intact."

"One bruised ego," Elizabeth started as she read the notes she had made over the course of the evening. "Electricity-induced paralysis, a twisted ankle, a wrist sprain at most, a simple head wound. For three meetings with Team Flare, that is remarkable, given the fact that people have perished in regular attacks before." She ignored the glares sent her way. "And while Geosenge had injuries for all, though I doubt Max noticed in the adrenalin rush, they were far less severe than one would reasonably expect." She gave a mirthless smile. "The religious would call this proof that a deity exists and actively protects."

"What is your point, dear?"

"You suspect they haven't learned to stay away because they've been essentially unscathed," Professor Birch said, cutting across Elizabeth answering her husband's question. "Being honest with you, Elizabeth, that's bullshit. They are teenagers, and if there's one thing everyone agrees on..."

"It's that teenagers think more impulsively, yes," Elizabeth replied with a level gaze. "For once, you're wrong, Maxim. I think it's far more likely that they do know the risks of what they did, but that they think not intervening is worse. Something your son seems to confirm, Caroline, Norman," she added with a nod to them. "Didn't he say something about that last year? 'Couldn't not help Wattson' or something?"

"That's Max alright," Caroline said, fondly exasperated, mirroring Norman's own view of what he thought of his children growing up. "But there's a bigger problem." A moment of tantalising silence. "How will we show them – and May too – that we _approve_ of the fact that they stood up for what they felt was right, but _disapprove_ of actually putting themselves in danger?"

"And without keeping the boys here too long," the only non-parent in the room added. Norman and Gregory both raised an eyebrow. "They want to head out to Johto as soon as they can. They'd probably do it the day after tomorrow if they didn't want to be here for me next weekend, and to spend some time with you as well."

That, Norman had to admit, was probably accurate. Both of them had been eager to leave again, he thought. Neither had outright said that, but Max had asked May a lot about Johto at dinner the night before, and he'd also expressed interest in doing the promised full battle this week. Caroline had also said that Max's pack was essentially unopened apart from clothing that needed a wash and then sorting to see if it still fit well enough.

The question then was… What could they do that would be fast and appropriate. Norman's second instinct in September, after briefly thinking about ordering Max to come home and immediately throwing that away because there was no way Max was going to do that, had been to ground him. Caroline had shot that down as gently as she could, saying that it wouldn't do much and that the punishment didn't fit with what Max had done.

"Question: what are we actually looking for in our punishment?" Gregory wondered, breaking the silence. "The punishment must fit the crime, as they say, but what exactly is the 'crime' we want to punish?"

"That they put themselves in danger," Elizabeth answered slowly, well-aware that her husband tended to make strange jumps in logic at times. "And perhaps that they didn't really face the consequences of that?"

A gleam entered Gregory's eyes. "Exactly," he said, and as one, both women in the room let out small sounds of understanding. "So we should show them that Pokémon can be dangerous. I mean at the personal level, rather than the abstract level, Maxim."

The Professor closed his mouth, though Norman still had no idea what exactly everyone else had come up with. "And how are we going to do that?"

Gregory quickly explained, and the Gym Leader was on board from the second sentence onward. It was a simple punishment, and a short discussion made sure that all three of the teenagers were punished proportionally.

It would be a day until they could confirm that it could actually take place, but that was fine with all of them. As Elizabeth had put it: "Best that they wait for the hammer to fall. It amplifies the effect."

 **~~§~~§~~**

The dimmed corner table lamp provided the extended Birch family with enough light to see by as alakazam dropped them off in the living room in the Petalburg home, and Gregory immediately turned on full lights with a blind twist of the knob behind him. "You want a birthday drink before going to Littleroot, brother?" he asked. Elizabeth had already headed for her laptop, booting it in order to read whatever had been sent her way during the hours they spent a mile away.

"I'll wait for next week," Maxim said, the tension in his face betraying the man's fatigue. "It's busy right now, and the near future isn't looking any better."

Gregory made to say something about his brother needing more help if his scientific work was stressful like that, but the torn, almost helpless, look cut that short before he could. Instead, he took one glance back and led his brother over to the kitchen, swiftly filling a glass with icy water with one hand. The other signalled for alakazam to erect a barrier that would block sound. "The last time I saw you like that, you'd just gotten news that LaRousse was being attacked," the elder brother said. "If it was that urgent, you could've begged off, remember?"

"Not that urgent," the younger brother replied shortly, quickly draining half the glass. "But I can't tell you, Gregory. You know that."

He did, not that it had stopped him from asking questions about obviously secret information before. The only reason he knew as much about the LaRousse incident as he did – and boy was it a surprise to find out that his son's best friend, his sister, and his mentor were involved in that – was because he had been in the room. The debriefing after the event had been something he wasn't keen on repeating, though it had given him great inspiration for a script he had been editing. "So it's not the meteor that is coming to wipe out Hoenn as we know it?"

He neatly side-stepped his brother's cough-spew of water, even as alakazam caught the droplets and deposited them in the sink. Gregory gave her a quick nod of thanks. "For the last time, that's only in the films."

"Is it going to affect us in any way?"

Gregory did not like the way his brother froze; like a deerling caught in a predator's gaze. It wasn't long, but it was enough. "It shouldn't," came a short reply, followed by a quarter-full glass being placed on the counter and an outstretched hand towards alakazam.

Elizabeth was still busy reading her mail, or perhaps formulating a reply, if he read his wife's face right, and instead, the dramatist and director went upstairs, not needing a light to find his way to his son's room. Once there, he flipped the light on, but the teenager didn't even stir as the lamp shone straight into his face.

It was probably just a trick or mere imagination, but Danny looked vulnerable and fragile as he was now, as if it was the first time in a long while that he could sleep and feel safe about it, coupled with a weight being lifted off his shoulders.

Unfair was what it was. The teenager was not even fourteen, yet to have his first shave, and probably his first proper kiss, and already he had ventured into situations few dared to. Still open to his parents emotionally, thank groudon. He'd shared more than Max had, and even if Gregory was certain both of them were downplaying things… Reading between the lines was a skill that he had honed for a long time already.

Tomorrow, he'd have to take his son to the side and try to pry a bit about what had happened. Without Max and Danny's habitual deference towards said best friend around, perhaps some quality father-son time could coax out more answers.

Gregory was fairly certain it wouldn't stop him or Elizabeth from worrying for their son, but that was the prerogative of parents: to worry for their children whenever they were out of view.

"Sleep well," he said, leaning in towards his son's ear, but no reply came, except for the even breathing of the fast asleep. A few steps back, and Gregory put his hand on the switch, pausing to look at the shelf over his son's desk. "Watch over my boy, klefki."

A soft jangle was all the answer he ever needed.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Max waited for his friends at the pizza parlour two streets down from his old school, finding himself wishing that it was open before five in the afternoon. He wasn't hungry at that exact moment, having just eaten a healthy lunch over at the Pokémon Center before walking here, but just buying a pizza and sharing it with his three friends later sounded like a good plan already.

Any other thoughts of a mid-afternoon snack were chased from his mind as the others actually showed up. Keith was the one Max first noticed, but only because of the colour of his hair. "Am I the only one here who doesn't have his hair dyed now?" the blue-haired teenager asked, watching for reactions.

There were near-identical laughs, merry and exactly as Max had expected them to be. "Blame Jane, she talked me into it," Keith said, slinging an arm around his girlfriend. Since they'd last seen each other back in Kalos, the older boy's hair had been dyed a vibrant red. It stood out beside Jane's own jet-black hair, which was dyed from a dark brown. "And Danny helped me go for it and got his hair dyed himself."

"I had noticed," Max said as he exchanged a glance with Danny. His best friend's hair wasn't grey or silver this time. Instead, it was white as chalk. "Though I wouldn't put it past him to just dunk his hair in a bucket of paint."

There was something else about Danny that was different, but Max couldn't find it before the white-haired teenager replied. "I can do that to you, if ya want me to," he teased. Both of them knew it wouldn't happen, but it was fun banter. "I'll get you to dye your hair one day, Max."

"When hell freezes over," Max replied drily, to more amusement. "Guess that explains why you couldn't come over this morning. I called home, but Gregory said you'd already left."

"Dyeing hair takes time," Danny said with a shrug. "We got a few minutes before we're expected, so… How long you punished for?"

"Full week," Max replied as he turned towards Keith and Jane. "Punishment for—"

"We know," Jane interrupted, smiling kindly. "Your parents asked mine for their help, they told me last night. I'm doing one day as well."

"Voluntarily," Keith added with a shake of his head. "And I'm the idiot who said he'd go with her that day."

Max and Danny both laughed, and Max nearly felt his voice crack at Jane's quick kiss and comment that left Keith completely flustered, despite not being able to hear the comment itself. "You two are nauseatingly in love with each other, you know that."

"Don't knock it 'til you try it," Keith replied, not even trying to hide his blush. "What about you, Danny?"

"Two days, and _just_ two days," the white-haired boy emphasised. "I'm on lab duty the other three days. Something about making it an actual punishment for you, Dad said," Danny told Max, a finger digging into the shorter teen's shoulder. It was enough to cause another round of laughter. "Enough about that. We need to head over."

Max hadn't been part of the discussion that had set this up, but Keith led them to the secondary entrance behind the school – the one pupils were never allowed to take. He and Danny hadn't either last year: they'd walked in the normal way, and it had caused a few children with window seats to see them, to the exasperation of the teachers trying to teach. Once granted access, they waited half a minute for the new principal to arrive.

The man turned out to be in his fifties, and just a tiny bit overweight, with visibly thinning black hair. He sank into a respectful bow once he saw the four. "It is an honour to meet you," he said after shaking all of their hands as well. "And my most sincerest thanks for taking the time to come back to your old school."

Just then, Mister Hillo stuck his head around the corner of a classroom down the hall, slipping out and joining them. "Good to see you again," the teacher said happily, shaking hands with all of them as well. "I don't remember such eclectic colours though," he added with a smirk. He took a pen and a miniature notepad from various pockets as the principal hovered nearby. "I hope you don't have stage fright. We're doing this for everyone who wants to attend, including lower years."

The idea of stage fright for some number maybe in the middle triple digits almost made Max lose it right there and then. "We're doing this outside, then? Podium and all?"

The deduction got him an approving nod. "Podium, microphone… Everything. I asked my class for some ideas yesterday." A folded-up note was taken from a shirt pocket. "We've probably got time for a few on here,"the teacher said as he held the note out.

Danny took the note, lowering it so everyone could read it.

Some of the ideas were never going to be allowed, like a Pokémon battle, or the attack demonstration, and some of the others were… "An autograph session?" Keith asked before Max could say the same. "Was that Tommy?"

"He was certainly the loudest," Mister Hillo shared with a grin, as Max remembered who they were talking about. Some boy the others had met and who wanted Max's autograph.

 _That_ idea still made his mind boggle, though, and he'd already had questions for autographs in Kalos. Hell, he didn't even have a real one. He'd just made up something with his initials.

"Don't think we can show Mega aggron. Not on the podium at least," Danny said as he skimmed the list faster than Max did. "It won't hold the weight. Manectric should be fine, if Max doesn't mind that."

Only the presence of the two adults made Max refrain from slugging Danny in the shoulder for the remark. Max didn't need any excuses to Mega Evolve manectric, even if he drew the line at doing it without reason. "If it's okay with you, sir," he said, addressing the principal.

The oldest one present seemed surprised to be drawn back into the conversation, Max thought. "I know little about it. It isn't dangerous?"

"Only to opposing Pokémon," Keith quipped, though it seemed to fall flat. "She's safe," he added, a bit more downcast. "Can you actually Mega Evolve without being in battle or in danger or anything?"

Sometimes, Max forgot that Keith, and Jane too, hadn't been in the loop as much as Danny and Serena had been, despite the amount of time they had spent together over the last month. "Not a problem," he said, shaking his head.

"It's a bit harder for me," Danny admitted softly. "Not impossible, just harder. Might be something to do with the thoughts I use to set it off."

As one, Keith, Jane, and Mister Hillo all made a confused sound. The two teenagers deferred to the teacher. "Can you elaborate, Danny?"

"Perhaps that could be done on the stage," Jane offered, softly, and adamantly at the same time. "And Keith and I could talk about starting out. For the older ones, mostly."

"Oh, yeah, the 'what-should-I-not-do' list," her boyfriend said, grinning in the knowledge that he'd filled most of that list. "I mean, we're taught a lot here, but you can't cover everything and it's been years since you travelled as a Trainer, right?"

"Yes, yes, we're a bunch of old geezers. No need to rub it in," Mister Hillo said, tone belying the words he used. "I like the idea. And I think both of you," he added, pointing at Keith and Jane in turn, "started out alone? Might be better to have that be your segment."

That confused Max a bit. "Why not tell them how good travelling in groups can be?"

"We teachers do that," came the flat response. "A lot. And we're still below the national average for that."

"Oh."

"Anyway… All of you have a topic to talk about… Would you be okay with answering some questions as well?" Mister Hillo asked. None of them had a problem with that. "I think that should cover it, then. Starting out, Mega Evolution, and questions, in that order. If you don't have any objections, of course," he asked the principal.

"Not at all. It sounds like you've got it all under control." The man sounded relieved. "I'll leave this in your capable hands. Should I keep an eye on your class?"

Mister Hillo waved him on, and the man vanished into the classroom, closing the door as he rapped his knuckles on it. "Proof positive that not every good teacher is a good principal..." the former teacher of all of them except Max muttered. "Right, is there anything you need before we start everything? Tea? Some food?"

All of them declined, on account of having had lunch already.

Several hours later, the four teenagers found themselves sitting in the pizza parlour after a long and active afternoon. It had been fun to explain, great to hear Keith and Jane explain things that Max had never really thought about twice, and the questions were surprisingly good. Better than Max was expecting for sure. Then, once all that was said and done, several pre-teens – most of them from Mister Hillo's class, but also some others – had sort of ambushed them and asked if they could see a Pokémon battle. Or two. Or five, as one of them put it, and the Trainers had delivered those. And autographs afterwards.

"You do that often?" Jane asked suddenly, just after they'd gotten their pizzas. "Just letting your Pokémon spar like that, with limits?"

She was referring to what must have been the 100th round of swampert and sceptile facing off, this time fully from range. Swampert had won out after freezing the ground and creating an ice rink that sceptile slipped on while dodging. "Have to. Those two know each other's moves by heart."

"Just like you two, then," Keith offered, before taking a bite. "Ah, just how I like it. Spicy."

Max looked at Danny, shrugging along with his best friend. "Guess so. We didn't battle together a lot in Kalos. No Team Double Battles anywhere, and we didn't for Team Flare."

"Except for the first time," Danny corrected, his mouth half full, but still managing to make himself heard with ease. "Johto probably has more. Maybe some people from Hoenn set something up. I'd be up for it."

"We'll expect the pictures of your new trophies in the mail then." Keith's statement made Max snort while sipping his drink through a straw, and some of it overflowed, dripping onto his plate. "Pizza with fizzy drink. Never tried that before."

Predictably, Danny was quick to jump on it, tag-team-teasing Max, but he didn't mind. It was all in good fun, and if you couldn't make fun of each other, were you even good friends in the first place?

 **~~§~~§~~**

Finally, there he was. It was close to nine, for manaphy's sake, and May had wanted to talk to her brother for a few hours already. She'd expected to see him over dinner, but her Mom had mentioned that Max had gone to watch some kind of film – the kind only teenage boys really liked, May thought – and would be back later. Now, he was back, and that meant she could finally ask what she had been dying to ask.

She intercepted him before he could enter the living room, where her parents were watching some kind of drama May didn't really like, and without waiting for him to do anything, she took him by the arm and started dragging him along to the greenhouse, letting go after a moment and looking around to make sure he followed. He did, but he looked a bit confused, if not more clueless than normal. He did keep quiet until they reached the greenhouse. "What's this about?"

May didn't answer, instead going to lock the door. When that didn't work thanks to the key not wanting to turn, she moved back, making sure that she gave Max the look that said she wanted answers. A calm and almost closed gaze met hers. "You didn't hear the news today, right?"

"Not since this morning," Max answered, casually leaning against a tree, arms folded. He was wearing comfortable clothing; a dark green shirt May had seen before, and deep red trousers she hadn't. "What's so important about it?"

She had practised this a bit. "You met up with Ash in July last year, right? Near Forina, crossing north-west to Meteor Falls?" May started off with a few facts, and a slight tilt of Max's head was his only answer. "Why did Ash meet up with you?"

"He wanted a bit of a reunion before going to train with Drake," her brother said. "And I think you weren't in Hoenn right then. Wasn't that when you were on holiday to the Sevii Islands?"

Part of it was, May remembered that. "And that was everything there was to it? Nothing else?"

"Get to the point, May." Max sounded just a bit annoyed.

"Some government officials held a press conference today. There was a research facility hidden in the mountains, and in July last year, someone attacked it." She ignored Max's attempt at starting to speak. "They said there was a sceptile, a Water-type, a dark-coloured Ice-type, and a small rodent-like Electric-type involved. Sound like someone's Pokémon?"

The casual pose fell away, and not for the first time, May was faced with what looked like her brother trying to intimidate her. Unfortunately for him, she had a few inches on him still, and he was just too young to look the part. "And what else was said?"

"That there were no human casualties, but that one Pokémon died in the fighting." May let the words hang in the air for a few moments. "Did you know Ash had done that? Killed a Pokémon? A _kirlia_ that had been with the scientists for about half a year?"

May knew Max caught the emphasis she placed, but his reaction was… Not expected. She'd expected surprise, shock, or anything that happened when someone's idol fell from grace. She was not expecting to be the target of a legitimately incensed glare – one that did manage intimidate her a tiny bit, not that she'd ever admit it. "Ash didn't do that," her brother bit out harshly.

"He's the only one that makes—"

"I don't know what kind of shit they spewed, but it's all lies," Max interrupted her brusquely. "Kirlia didn't die in the fighting. He was being used against his will, like jirachi was used to summon that fake groudon. He died from being _tortured_ , broadcasting the same kind of signal that makes all those Psychic-types and Ghost-types and Dark-types go crazy. Like Petal Grove. Like Slateport. Like here," the younger teenager spat, and May had never heard his voice be that acidic. Ever. "Kirlia dying was a _mercy._ "

"I'm sure Ash just told you that to protect your fe—"

"Shut up you—!" Max yelled, before suddenly stopping himself. "That is what _you_ would do, May," he continued, softer, still demanding May's silence, the harsh comment also keeping her quiet. "Ash doesn't, but that doesn't matter." The youngest Birch took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose, trepidation rising within his sister. She closed her own eyes for a second, taking a deep breath herself to not lash out at her baby brother. "I was there. Ash lent me sceptile, and we beat the bloody shitheads before they fled. Then Danny found kirlia, and he died after we freed him."

She really shouldn't have been surprised about Danny being there. He'd jump off a cliff for Max, and that much had been true even that far back. "Max..."

That was as far as she got, as she caught sight of her brother's face. There were tears threatening to slide down his cheeks, shocking her into silence once again. An urge rose to hug him, soothe him, but it warred with her annoyance.

Max broke the silence; his voice frigid, not hysterical. "You were right on Sunday, May. Ralts _is_ dead. He died in my arms, in that arceus-forsaken hellhole under that mountain. I had _seconds_ with him."

She was struck dumb by the cold words, only managing a spluttered "But you said," after ages before Max interrupted her again.

"Can't exactly tell everyone about it, now can I? I lied, May. I lied, and I'm damn good at it if you didn't even _think_ that I knew the truth," he boasted darkly. "And you thought I was naive. Well, you're damn wrong about that, and about a lot of sodding things."

The scoff caused her to break out of her stupor. "What happened to my little brother?" she asked softly, both annoyed and truly curious.

"He grew up in ten seconds from having his heart torn out. Do you know how that feels, sis? You probably don't. The worst that ever happened to you was having to say goodbye to manaphy, wasn't it?" The watery glare he sent was lethal, quelling any outburst from her. "I would rather fight yveltal twenty times over, _by myself_ , than _ever_ go through anything like that ever again."

And then he left, turning around, opening the door in one fluid motion, before slamming it shut. Glass trembled in its panes, and a flock of nearby pidgey flew up from the shrill noise.

May stood frozen for several minutes before she could even think about what to do next.

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _Hoenn Threat Level: SEVERE_

 _Continued intermittent outbreaks of psychotic episodes for Psychic, Ghost, and Dark-type Pokémon remain hazards to public safety in Hoenn, with no apparent indicator of where they will strike next. Citizens are advised to use Pokémon of these types as little as possible, and to avoid gathering a group of them in one place without possessing appropriately powerful Pokémon to handle them in case of an attack. Evacuation plans should be regularly practised for public buildings such as schools or hospitals._

Last updated: November 12th.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** And I'm back. Busy personal life, writer's block, and procrastination made for a rather delayed proper first chapter. Updates are every two weeks probably, just in case real life kicks back.

A reminder of the teams both boys have, in order of capture:  
Danny: swampert, froslass, dusclops, gulpin, aggron, drapion, loudred, magnemite, masquerain, diggersby, spritzee, helioptile, ferroseed, klefki.  
Max: sceptile, baltoy, manectric, ninjask, shelgon, clefairy, poliwhirl, vulpix, xatu, doublade, espurr, swinub.


	3. Fight And Flight

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Fight and Flight**

Cold bonds of hateful energy bound him as the void-like creatures chased him; the emptiness giving away exactly where they were, and drowning out the crisp feeling of night. A ball of negative energy flew towards him, but the terrain was kind to him, with plenty of obstacles to use.

A stone shower was followed by a moment of intense concentration; creaking soon following as a tree his width tumbled down, forcing the void to shift and move. Neither got hit, but it gave him enough time to move away. A steep hill put more distance between him and his pursuers, and yet again, he tried to Teleport. The chains rattled, strained by time and distance, but held.

The wind carried a snarling sound and hateful emotions, echoing in the night, coming from ahead of him. They were answered by the two chasing Pokémon, and he shifted his path immediately, veering towards the moon, wishing he could call upon its power as others could.

He ducked out of reflex, a frigid orb sailing over him from where he had been heading, and a snarl-bark filled with hatred; promising pain, called out towards the others. It made him put on a burst of speed, moving as fast as he physically and psychically could. Rocks reacted to his desire, expelled towards the void, but there were no following whines or yelps.

A human nearby caught his attention, presence muted, but satisfaction still radiating like a beacon, causing anger to rise within. He grasped the emotion, sculpting it with his atypical desire to maim, and a lance of agony and suffering lanced out to where he had detected the Trainer.

Shrieks of anguish rent the air, and for a moment, the void faltered; a welcome pause that was used immediately. A psychically-aided jump over a small stream precluded a lash backwards, soaking the soil on the other bank. Yet, a fourth creature of void joined the night, and he had to skirt into a bush, extremities catching on thorns. The chains passed by harmlessly, but he was granted a glimpse of the ground ahead: open, unprotected. No escape possible.

That was not an option. Another jump, this time into a tree, shuffling around the large trunk to put it between him and the others, and he started to gather one last attempt for a Teleport.

A spiral of void passed by close enough that it could be touched, shaking his concentration, but he would not waver. He had to get away. Capture was death. He would not share that fate. Not if he had anything to say about it.

He released the internal pressure, feeling the chains tug, give, and shatter, and void vanished in an instant. Its absence was welcome, until the hole it left was filled by an avalanche of intense fatigue and cold familiarity.

Knees hit cold rock; empathy sensing one singular emotion in the steel-plated room. Never had he been here in flesh, yet he had been here in spirit. Unbidden, recollection surged, lifting him on emotions foreign yet as familiar as if his own. Grim satisfaction and anger, shifting into surprise and worry whirling within as a phantom voice called out. Worry slowly drowned everything, until it vanished in an immortalised moment, and everything along with it.

Terror and horror, entwining in knots spreading everywhere. Murmurings; blind, wishful, useless. An agonised reply, and dawning realisation spreading the strangling entangling vines.

Helplessness, apology, release.

A heart riven.

" _Brother..."_

The world vanished in blinding light.

 **~~§~~§~~**

With a quick swipe, Danny brushed the sweat from his brow, happy that he had given in to the barber's suggestion of cutting his hair so it wouldn't fall in his eyes if he didn't style it somehow. Today was such a day, after he'd overslept and nearly ended up late for his day at the laboratory.

It was average November weather for Hoenn, but the sun reflecting off of aggron's plates and the working above his head for the ones in the Steel-type's neck meant it was tiring work to rub the cloth even with the small box he was using as a stool to stand on. Aggron couldn't bend over either, because it'd make the plates shift so that parts of them were hidden underneath others. "That's all of it, I think. How's it feel, aggron?"

The gentle rumble told him enough, allowing him to hop off the stool as aggron ambled away, joining the rest of his team. Helioptile immediately clambered onto the Steel-type, while dusclops made the journey towards their Trainer. The Pokémon had decided amongst themselves who would go when, and they'd pretty much collectively decided to leave the most annoying ones for last. First aggron, who was huge – swampert was a lot easier because all Danny had to do for that was to turn the hose on his starter – then dusclops, who had the whole Ghost-type thing, and then last of all would be froslass, who was both Ghost and Ice.

He loved them dearly, but he did feel they were pulling one over him right now.

"Need some help?" Max asked from behind him, and Danny turned around to see the shorter teenager grin at him, a soft brush in his gloved hand from where he'd just finished with manectric. "You've got a bigger team and the harder Pokémon to clean," he answered Danny's unasked question. "And saving the best for last, I see."

"Their decision, not mine," Danny said as he put a hand on dusclops, steering her towards Max. "You do dusclops. That brush should work."

"Anything else?" Max asked, and Danny shook no. "'kay then."

A few minutes later, as Danny gently rubbed cold gel into froslass's back, he saw Max stand back for a moment, blowing on his fingers. "What is it?"

Max looked up. "I don't know," he said, walking to dusclops's side as he did so. "Touching dusclops just feels weird. Weirder than it did last time."

Ghost-types always felt a bit strange to the touch, and of the ones they had, dusclops was the strangest. Froslass's low body temperature was far more pressing than her Ghostly part when taking care of her, and doublade could be very tangible when he felt like it. They'd guessed that was because he was part-Steel.

Yet, at the same time, Danny had a feeling it wasn't the regular strange sensation. Max was used to that, and Danny hadn't felt that much of a difference whenever he cared for dusclops. "When was the last time anyway?"

"Couple days before Geosenge." Max resumed the grooming, and Danny did so as well. "Maybe it was something yveltal and xerneas did. It's not like we understand everything about Pokémon, and Legendaries are worse."

Out of nowhere, an idea appeared in Danny's mind, fully formed and all, but he put it on hold while carefully tracing gel around froslass's eye sockets. "You know how it works froslass. Keep the cold in check for about half an hour so the gel works its magic," he told the floating Ice-type, giving her a wry grin. She wasn't always as diligent in sticking to the half hour rule as she was capable of being. "And no asking swampert to cool you down either. This brand is ruined by water."

"You'd think they'd invent something like that," Max said from his kneeling position, before pausing to adjust the brush as he reached the inside of dusclops's legs, "that would work while freezing. Ice is rare, sure, but..."

"There actually aren't that many that use this," Danny replied. "All just Ice-type Pokémon, froslass, Alolan sandshrew but not sandslash, sneasel and weavile, and amaura and aurorus. That's something like twenty Pokémon, and rarer ones to boot." He checked on his Pokémon, seeing all of them laze around, and he quickly told one of them to do something while Max's sight was blocked. He quickly moved towards dusclops as well. "I was using something that works on some of the Water-Ice hybrids, but one of Wulfric's Trainers recommended this."

"You have all the difficult Pokémon to care for," Max told him, looking fairly smug as he handed the brush back. "I just need a brush for half my Pokémon. Salamence is..." The younger teenager broke off suddenly, looking for something. Danny quickly tapped his foot twice, and a moment later, Max stopped looking, visibly relaxing. "Salamence is going to be a pain once shelgon evolves, though."

"Huh?"

"Dragonskin is resistant to the common elements, right?" Max started, and Danny gave him a slow nod. "Guess what water is, even if it isn't an attack. It isn't a problem for some other Dragon-types, like the dragonite family. They're comfortable enough in water, but salamence and garchomp? They're not."

"Garchomp would be worse. That rough skin it has," Danny offered, remembering the one time he touched Professor Sycamore's Mega-capable Pokémon. "Is that something else you'd change if going back in time? Making me not see bagon's Egg?"

"Hell no!"

The two boys broke into laughter for a bit, and afterwards, Danny decided now was not the right time to ask Max about what drapion had just revealed. "You want to do one big group picture with all of our Pokémon?"

"I thought we were already doing that?"

Danny shook his head. "No. Well, yeah," he amended quickly. "But that's just me and my Pokémon, and you and yours. I meant all twenty-seven of our Pokémon and the two of us." He smiled, seeing Max understand. "Just need to find someone to use the camera, but since your father is coming over in… Ten minutes or so?" He glanced at his watch, seeing it was just over twenty past eleven. "Close enough."

"Hope your camera's got a big enough lens to get all of our Pokémon in then," Max said, but Danny could tell the idea was one Max loved. "I'll go first. You go do your photography things to your camera."

Twenty minutes later, they had their pictures – ones that would probably end up in living rooms by the end of the weekend. Max's was simple to make: the smallest Pokémon he had were easy to put on another Pokémon for contrast and visibility. Swinub ended up hitching a ride atop shelgon, baltoy could levitate, and espurr was light enough to hold fast to one of sceptile's seed pods on his back. Max sat in front of all of them, legs folded over one another, sort of flanked by manectric and shelgon, with sceptile directly behind him.

By contrast, Danny had to deal with klefki being positively tiny and a lot of his Pokémon taking up a lot of room on the ground. Drapion, aggron, and swampert all needed a lot of ground to stand on. Then he had to think about making sure ferroseed was visible – aggron carrying it wouldn't work. Swampert ended up cradling the Grass-type. Helioptile clambered onto drapion, and masquerain perched on aggron's left shoulder spike. Loudred and dusclops ended up standing in front of aggron and swampert, which did leave Danny with no place to sit himself until Norman – who had just arrived – came up with the idea of having him sit on aggron's other shoulder.

That said and done, the twenty-nine soon busied themselves with figuring out a good way for their mass picture. The Gym Leader suggested that they have manectric and aggron Mega Evolve for the picture – something Max did eagerly and Danny did dutifully. It definitely made cracking an honest smile harder as a result of the bond, but it worked in the end. Both starters, both teenagers, and both Megas were front and centre in this one, with the other Pokémon fanning outward.

"I'm afraid to say we can't do two Full Battles," Norman said after all Pokémon had been returned to their pokéballs and put in small baskets to carry around. "Some professional battler came asking for a battle just before I left, and I need to save at least a few for that. Four's the maximum per battle."

"Four is fine," Max said, before his eyes lit up with an idea. "How about we do four one-on-one battles then. You know Danny, like we had against Clemont."

"How did those work?"

"You start like normal, but whoever won the battle had to choose their Pokémon first for round two," Max explained. "If it was a tie, send them out at the same time again. If you won more than the other, you got the badge."

The Gym Leader seemed to mull his son's words over, nodding and smiling at the end. "An interesting format. Maybe I should use it for eighth badge battles."

"What do you normally use for that?" Danny asked, wondering. He'd seen a few battles, and Max had described a lot more, but he didn't remember what Norman's version of it was.

"Triples," Norman and Max both replied, the older giving his son a look that basically spelled out 'really?' afterwards. "The idea for the format should work, but let's just send out Pokémon at the same time."

Both Danny and Max were okay with that, and after a short walk to a slightly flatter and more out of the way piece of land – and alerting Professor Birch where they were so he wouldn't drive through a battle – Max and Norman faced each other while Danny was on the sidelines for this round.

And as he saw Max's xatu be met with a sleek persian, he sat back, and prepared to enjoy the showdown between father and son.

An hour or so later, Danny closed his eyes as Solarbeam met dusclops's Protect; the attack and defence colliding to create a bright spectacle that threatened to blind him. Even through his closed eyelids, however, he could see the moment Protect broke; the Grass-type attack hitting dusclops and probably knocking her out in the process.

It was so, and Danny returned his Ghost-type before casting a look at the sawsbuck used by his opponent. He was heaving, the red leaves on his antlers moving with every hasty breath, and the brown fur was mat from where Will-O-Wisps and Fire Punches had connected. Dusclops had put up a good fight, though sadly, not good enough, making the totality of the battle a draw.

"And I thought I was clever, leaving slaking to face you instead of my son," his opponent said as they met up on a hill to the side, where Max was already waiting with a pair of water bottles. Danny and Norman both gratefully accepted it, taking a moment to drink. "Beaten by a klefki of all things. Cory is never going to let me heard the end of that."

Both teenagers laughed at the older man's expense. Klefki had won the second battle, after girafarig had defeated loudred, and before diggersby had won a fierce fight with a vigoroth. "The bigger they are," Max said, smiling widely. "Isn't that what you taught me?"

"And I don't regret a moment of it," Norman answered easily, his free hand tousling Max's hair. The younger teen let it happen. "But you became this strong all on your own. 'Motivated' by people like Team Flare," the Gym Leader said with a flash of sour on his face, "but I wager that without it, you'd still be great Trainers." He suddenly put a finger to Max's wristband. "Why didn't you use these, though?"

"We did one on ones," Max replied, uncovering the Key Stone in the leather. "Haven't seen too many Mega battles, but every time, the Mega took at least one Pokémon out. Wouldn't be fair."

Danny quickly added a nod when Norman turned towards him. It was close enough to what he had reasoned. "Aren't there rules about it? Wulfric only used a Mega because Max used one, and Korrina used just Mega lucario."

Norman sat down, patting the ground beside him, and the teenagers followed suit. "That's all fine for Gym Battles, but this is not one. I _want_ to see your full strength." The grin that appeared looked a bit forced, entirely too much like Max's. "You keep finding yourself in trouble, and this'd make me sleep a bit better at night."

Max visibly bit down on his first instinct to reply, Danny saw. "Sorry Dad."

"Only about making me worry, I bet," the adult observed. "I heard you on Sunday and earlier. You're about as not sorry as you can be about trying to save whatever it is you want to save." A swift glance to Max, and Danny saw his best friend ready to reply, except he also saw a hand raise in the corner of his vision. "Don't deny it, and don't apologise about being who you are, Max. Your mother and I are proud of the man you're becoming, despite you picking fight over flight more than we'd like."

It had been far too long since Danny saw Max truly embarrassed, he realised as his friend turned a red to rival Keith's hair. Some time during Kalos, that had fallen by the wayside, except for a few small blushes here and there. "Thanks Dad," Max said softly, at length.

"I know Gregory and Elizabeth think the same of you, Danny," Norman said, and Danny nodded in reply. "And they've probably told you already."

"Dad tried to quote some play, but Mum forced him to say it outright," Danny said, remembering the conversation of the night before. "That's why our punishments are so light, aren't they?"

Norman laughed heartily. "Say that after you've done your days there. Working in a hospital isn't easy, and maybe this'll show you a thing or two," he said after he was done, smiling gently, but failing to make Danny's blush disappear completely.

"Why there?" Max wondered, his blush mostly vanished. "I don't understand why you went for the hospital in particular. Except for Jane's parents," he added quickly. "But you could've had us do some kind of presentation to all schools about how dangerous Pokémon can be. That's what you were most worried about, right?"

The Gym Leader's mutter was just underneath Danny's hearing. "You know I can't tell you why we chose what we did, Max," Norman said afterwards, sounding like it was an argument he was used to making. "It'd defeat the purpose..."

"… of the punishment. Yes Dad," Max finished with a roll of his eyes.

"Speaking of punishment… What did my poor greenhouse door do to deserve being slammed like that?"

Danny raised an eyebrow as he turned to Max. He hadn't heard anything about this from his friend, which meant it probably happened only the night before, after coming home from the newest superhero film.

"I'm sorry about that, Dad."

"I'm sure you are, son," Norman replied softly, putting a hand on Max's shoulder, only for Max to shake it off. "I just want to know what happened. You know it's better to talk about things like this."

"May was..." Max started, before letting out a sigh, fidgeting with his wristband. "She said a few things… It was a bit too private, okay? And she was really rude about it."

Danny briefly thought about what could've set Max off like that, and realised that there was only one real option. He kept his silence, instead looking to see what Norman thought. The Gym Leader looked a bit torn, but eventually nodded. "Alright," he said softly. "It's just that your sister hasn't made you that angry in a long time, if I'm not mistaken. Honestly, your mother and I had hoped you'd outgrown it."

"Sorry to disappoint," Max retorted bitterly, seemingly before his brain caught up. "Uh..."

"It's okay," Norman replied. "I know you've been holding comments back, but you're a teenager. You can't do it to all of them." He tapped Max's head thrice, using just one finger. "Your brain's not wired that way. We won't love you any less for it. We're not old enough that we forgot our own adolescence, you know."

"Could've fooled me," Max said, not even bothering to try and look innocent like he'd normally do for that kind of comment. Danny enjoyed the wicked grin on his friend's face – it was loads better than mopey Max.

"I walked right into that one," Norman said, shaking his head and also not bothering to hide his amusement. "But… I know you're growing up, and that you haven't hugged me since before you left for Kalos, but… For old times' sake?"

"Sure."

The hug was the right kind of sickeningly sweet, but Danny wasn't tempted to go for the camera in a nearby bag. Some moments just couldn't be captured.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Petalburg loomed in the distance, growing noticeably as the salamence sped through the air. His rider checked a watch strapped around the outside of his warm clothing with a minute adjustment of his wrist. The journey had taken the better part of two and a half hours, and Reginald hoped he would arrive in time.

One of his operatives had risked discovery, contacting him around sunrise with news that had the Gym Leader dumbfounded, and he was going to have to have words with the two he was collecting now.

Somehow, their identity had become known to the authorities, who would likely be sending police over to arrest them. The operative had done everything in their power to delay the inevitable, feigning a crash of the internal network, but it was his job to fix that as well. He could not delay for too long, and the time that had passed since then was coming up on the estimates of how far his efforts could reach.

If one of them was in custody already, Reginald would have to leave them, and he would rather not do that.

A soft press on the salamence's skin told the Dragon-type to descend, heading towards the fairly affluent area both boys' parents lived in. The Birch boy lived closer to his current path, with fewer options for escape to boot. That would be his first stop, and palkia willing, both teenagers were actually home.

People looked up towards him as they saw the Pokémon flying overhead, but Reginald ignored them and any cries as salamence flew about forty feet off the ground, higher than any building in the area, but low enough to be able to spot small details, and soon the house he had been looking for came into view. Even more luckily, the teenager, now sporting chalk-white hair, was playing outside with the family growlithe, lazily throwing something.

The Fire-type gave a warning bark, prompting Birch to turn around just in time for the salamence to land on the street. "Birch," Reginald shot as he threw two Great Balls at the teenager, who caught both of them on seeming instinct. "You're wanted. Get your pack, give it to noivern, and then get out on salamence. She'll know where to take you. You have ten minutes."

"What?"

Reginald clamped down on his annoyance, instead jumping off and crossing the short distance with quick paces. "Listen to me," he said, leaning in and hoping he was able to impress the gravity of the situation on the teen. "If you stay here for half an hour, _at most,_ you will then spend the remainder of your teenage years inside a cell." A bit of exaggeration, perhaps, but he was not in the mood. He paused, and finally, frightened understanding dawned. "Pack, leave. Salamence knows where to go." He got back on his Pokémon. "Is Maple at home?"

The teenager nodded, seemingly still struggling with the statements Reginald had made, but a tug on his jeans from the growlithe forced him into motion, heading inside. The Gym Leader wished he could oversee the evacuation, but he had another place to be, and there was no time to waste.

Salamence took to the air again, heading towards the home of Reginald's colleague. He hoped that there wouldn't be any problems: Norman was a tough battler with convictions that would see him defend his family if he suspected foul play, but his Gym was also well-travelled. With any luck, there was a challenger to temporarily distract from the vanishing of his son.

Something to his left caught his eye: a simple monochromatic off-white lorry that rolled to a halt, parking on the side of a residential street. It was perfectly everyday fare out in mainland cities, except there was no immediate movement around it, ruling out the idea that it was a moving company or even someone irresponsibly parking their work vehicle in front of their home.

He wasn't given to cursing, but now, Reginald muttered a few choice words under his breath; words his sister would have his head for if he ever uttered them in the presence of her sons. There was no doubt in his mind that it was the very same lorry that Lance had spoken of six days before in their meeting.

He itched with the desire to go up to the lorry and crack it open, find out how exactly the signal was being broadcast, but he had a duty, not only to Maple, but also to Lance, who was borderline fond of the teenagers that had stopped so much at such a young age.

Neither Maple teen was visible outside the house, but the flashes of light inside the Gym announced a battle sure as anything. Once more, salamence landed, Reginald dismounting the Dragon-type. He hurried over to the front door and rang the bell before turning his back on the door, continuously looking down the street for any police who were making their move. He didn't exactly have a lot of Pokémon who could fight. He needed three of them to make his get-away with Maple – two at worst if salamence could pull double duty for at least the first twenty miles.

The door opened, and it was his quarry, surprise and shock warring inside the short teen. "The hell?"

"You're wanted," Reginald said in reply, even as he released two Pokémon on the Maple lawn: a flygon for carrying and a dragonite for flight. "Get your pack, now. You have five – shit!" he suddenly cursed as a crackling sound emanated from his coat pocket. He didn't need to look at what was in there to know what had happened. The strange energy that caused Pokémon to go berserk had just appeared, causing the meter to provide auditory feedback. "Grab it, don't use Psychic-types!"

This teenager obeyed, leaving Reginald to look at the street. Citizens were starting to mull around salamence; the Dragon giving off enough of a dangerous aura that nobody would dare come close, but the witnesses were a liability.

A brief whistle and salamence flung his wings out, looking dangerous, but avoiding any injury to bystanders. It caused them to step back, and a few started moving on under the intense glare the Dragon-type was giving them.

Quicker than Reginald had held possible, the teenager returned, pack half slung across his back and all, one hand rubbing his temple for a moment as he came down the stairs. "Is Danny..."

The question was obvious. "Yes, he is," Reginald said as his head swivelled back to the street. A police siren suddenly blared, the van screeching to a halt. "Get on dragonite!" the Gym Leader yelled, heading for his own salamence. He heard the teenager call for flygon to grab the pack; a clang of something telling Reginald that it had been dropped to the ground.

Salamence threw a jet of Flamethrower down the street, laying down a protective barrier of flame as people around shrieked and fled. A powerful wingbeat in his back told Reginald that Maple had already mounted dragonite and taken off. He wasted no time in telling salamence to do the same as he kept an eye on the wall of fire, hoping that there would be no Pokémon attacks coming through it.

None came, and moments later, they were an easy hundred feet in the air, immediately heading due west and accelerating to get out of range of any long-ranged Pokémon attacks that the Petalburg police might have had with them. The speeds and distance between the flying Pokémon gave Reginald no chance of talking to the youngest unofficial G-men operative, and a glance backwards told him nothing either. From a distance, he got the impression that there was a determined expression etched onto the boy's face, but that was no guarantee for his true state.

They met up with the other salamence and noivern not too far outside of Petalburg, Birch looking a tad queasy as his ride slowed down to keep pace with the other Pokémon. He heard indistinct yelling from one boy to the other, words lost in the whipping of the air around them, and it seemed that they both understood that as well, instead saving their breath as they headed out over the sea.

The weather turned worse up ahead, and Reginald adjusted their course, He knew where to go, and suspected that the weather there was as okay as November weather could be. Taking a slightly longer route to get there was no problem; he had no intention of flying through rain if he could help it. Pneumonia would be of no help to any of them.

If the teenagers were of a mind to complain, they didn't do so. There was a bit of unease on the side of Birch, even an hour into the flight, but Maple clearly seemed to be adept at flying on a dragonite, loosening his grip and trusting the dragonite to keep him safe. Reginald marvelled at the ability of a thirteen year old to trust an unknown Pokémon like that, going at easily ninety miles an hour, several hundred feet in the air, on what was probably one of his first times flying on a Pokémon. The Gym Leader had read the profiles and had been given an overview of what Ketchum had been up to in Hoenn years back from the rapidash's mouth, but that hadn't led him to expect this.

Maple would be the easier one to convince of the reality of the new situation: that all of them were wanted, and would likely have to engage in long talks with government officials wherever they would end up officially. Couch it in terms the teenager could understand, with the experience of being followed by those Team Rocket members as a close-enough-analogy, and he would understand without too much of an issue.

Birch was the wildcard, and Reginald did not like those one iota. It had been why he had been initially against the inclusion, despite Lance making very strong arguments about expectations, the ostensible passivity of the mission, and the fact that they had been involved before. In his years of experience, most people under eighteen – and males were worse at this, he fully realised – lacked a sense of discretion and thought only in the immediate sense, and he had feared for operational security.

The only time they had broken it had been when it had become utterly untenable not to do so.

Thoughts of how to best approach the subject occupied most of the Dragon-type Trainer's thoughts until he finally saw what he had been looking for: an uninhabited island with a distinct half-crescent, half-hammer shape, and a ship that had dropped anchor where the shallows started. He steered salamence down, noticing the four other Dragons following suit, landing on the rocky point and finding what he was looking for immediately. "This is Kingship, over."

"You were noticed, Kingship," came the correct reply, and Reginald felt tension leave his body. "I'll alert the captain. Be seeing you on board."

By this time, the teenagers had landed as well, immediately dismounting and reacting rather differently. Maple seemed to be okay, if in need of some stretching, but Birch had immediately sat down, relieved to be on solid ground again.

The Gym Leader cleared his throat, gathering their attention. "You are liable to have questions, but I would ask that you hold them for a little while," he told them. "It has been a long flight, more so for you who are not used to it, and it is nearing noon. We should partake in lunch before discussing that which has occurred, is occurring, and will occur.."

He gave them room to reply, but instead, Maple resolutely walked past him. "Is that Drake's ship?"

Either it was a lucky guess, or a good memory. Reginald cared not which. "She is. The S.S. Brian, Drake's pride and joy for as long as the two of you have been alive combined," he indulged them. "She is to be our home away from home for the foreseeable future."

"Why did they want to arrest us?" Birch said, having walked up and gazing at the ship as well. "It's huge."

"You have been uncovered as having participated in storming and destroying the facility in the Aso Mountains." At that, Maple tensed, and Reginald doubted it had to do with the reminder of a reviled place. "Do you possess any idea how that might have happened?"

As it turned out, they did.

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _Petalburg Police are looking for the whereabouts of Daniel Birch, 13, and Max Maple, 13, who were last seen fleeing from their homes on the back of several Dragon-type Pokémon, heading out over the sea to the west of Petalburg. Their flight happened at approximately 9:40am on November 22. Both Trainers are wanted in connection to the destruction of a research facility in July of last year._

 _Birch is approximately 5'8'', with recently-dyed white hair that is often styled with spikes. Maple is 5'3'' with dark blue hair that is worn down to his shoulders. Both are accomplished Trainers with a variety of well-trained and potentially dangerous Pokémon. If seen, do not approach, but contact the police at the regular non-emergency number._


	4. Answering The Question

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Answering The Question**

The police station witness waiting room was extremely boring to be in, Keith thought. There was nothing he could do except wait. Pokémon were prohibited; the walls were barren; and there was nothing to keep him occupied otherwise. All he had was his thoughts as they tried to make sense of the past few hours.

Danny and Max, criminals? The police sure seemed to think so, demanding that Keith and Jane – who he had been visiting at the time – come to the station to tell them about the two 'fugitives'. The officer hadn't said it like that, but contrary to what Keith sometimes felt in the presence of his three best friends, he wasn't stupid, and certainly not stupid enough to not read between those lines.

A female officer, though not a Jenny, called his name. He finally got up from his uncomfortable seat, stretching before following the brunette down a few cold hallways in complete silence. After turning one last corner, they met a moustached middle-aged man, with salt and pepper hair. "Mister Ya," he addressed Keith as the woman escorting him stepped aside. "My name is detective inspector Roms, and this is constable Ward. We would like you to answer some questions regarding Daniel Birch and Max Maple." Keith nodded in return before going through the door the man was holding open for him.

The interrogation room was not empty. The occupant of the chair turned around as Keith shuffled in, and a woman with short hair stood up. "Mister Ya," she said warmly, holding out a hand to him. He shook it automatically. "I am here to..."

"What _are_ you here for?" Roms interjected rudely, causing Keith to turn around to see that both officers had entered the room. "The interview with your client has been concluded."

"With one client," the woman corrected merrily. "However, she and her parents requested me to extend my services to this young man, and I accepted." She turned to Keith. "I am Izumi Maki, and I am here in my professional capacity as a solicitor – a lawyer – to help you. Do you wish to retain my services?"

Keith wasn't certain what to make of a lawyer being here for him, but if Jane and her parents recommended it… He probably should accept. "I do," he said.

"Marvellous," Ms. Maki replied. "Now, detective inspector, I would like it if you left the room so I can confer with my client, pursuant to..."

"You do that," the man said, sounding like he'd bit into a lemon all of a sudden. "Open the door when you're done."

The slam made clear that the man was agitated at Keith's acceptance of the lawyer's services. She didn't seem to care, instead sending out a bronzor. It fired off a psionic pulse that Keith felt whoosh over him, and then an almost opaque shield appeared. "His dislike of me stems from a case some time last year," Ms. Maki explained quickly as she pulled out a notepad, jotting down a few things in shorthand. "But that was then. This is now. I imagine you have questions."

Keith did, but the first that he blurted out was "Will I have to pay for this?"

The laugh was clear, echoing inside their little bubble. "Technically, you should have asked that before," the lawyer told him. "But this is _pro bono_ work, for which lawyers like me either lower or waive fees entirely. In this case, the costs are waived." She turned a few pages back as Keith nodded mutely. "Let me outline what I'm here for, and if you have any questions after that, ask them."

He could accept that, and he leant forward, ears perked up as he prepared to listen to the explanation.

"You are here because two of your friends are accused of breaking the law and then fleeing from justice earlier today. This interview, like the one with my previous client, your girlfriend, is designed to tell them everything about your friends. Unless you committed a serious crime yourself on Hoenn territory, you cannot be charged with _anything_ from what you tell them. Mostly."

A snippet of memory shot to the front of Keith's mind. "Don't lie to the police, right? That's an exception?"

"Indeed," Ms. Maki confirmed. "Something you probably picked up on one of those visits of the police to your school when you were younger. What they don't tell you is that it doesn't mean you should tell them everything in as much detail as you have to. It is in your – and your friends' – best interest to keep your answers concise and clear. For example, if you're asked how many Pokémon you have, you answer with a number, and not a list of which Pokémon you have. If you are able to answer a question with a 'yes' or 'no', do so.

"Secondly, and this may surprise you… You are allowed to terminate this interview at any point, and you are also allowed to refuse to answer any and all questions. You are aiding the police. You were not a witness to any of the charges, and as such, they have no power to hold you here. Any statements otherwise are bold-faced lies, and any angry looks or threats are empty." She smiled at him. "Any questions so far?"

"So… Keep it short and simple, don't lie, and don't answer if I don't want to?" Keith summarised after sorting everything out in his head. "Oh, and they pretty much can't do anything to me."

Ms. Maki smiled once again. "Words to live by," she said, before taking a deep breath. "My role here is to help you understand and make sure there is no ambiguity. If you don't understand a question, look towards me, and I will ask them to elaborate. If they ask questions that are outside their jurisdiction, I will interject and have it stricken from the record."

"Jurisdiction?"

"Breaking Kalosian law is completely irrelevant. What matters is what you did in Hoenn. It's not an issue that should come up, but given what happened two months ago, it is a possibility that they might fish for it."

He could understand that, and he vaguely remembered a chat at the award ceremony about the interpretation of the law that made a bit more sense now. Relatively speaking. "Okay. Anything else?"

"Not particularly, except that you're entitled to a drink and should probably ask for one before the interview starts. Just so we aren't interrupted." Amusement bubbled in Keith's chest as the lawyer, or solicitor, or whatever, said that. "You'll be fine. Stick to your words of earlier, use your brain, and you'll be able to go off with your girlfriend before you know it." Ms. Maki rose from her seat, the opaque barrier shimmering. "Are you ready?"

He was.

"Mister Ya," the constable said a few minutes later as everyone had taken their seats; a glass of water in front of Keith after requesting it once the door had opened. "Thank you for taking time out of your day to help us. I imagine that Trainers like you are often busy planning where to go next and, well, training. To hear about your friends running away like that must have been… Shocking."

"Or maybe he knew about it beforehand," the detective inspector interjected darkly. "Let's do this properly. You are Keith Ya, fourteen years old, born in Rustboro, birthday the fourteenth of October?"

"Yes, I am."

"How long have you been friends with Misters Birch and Maple?"

He had to think a bit about that question. "A bit under a year," Keith answered eventually.

"Didn't you go to school with them?" Miss Ward asked. "Didn't you give a talk and a demonstration last Tuesday?"

"I did, but we weren't really friends back then," Keith said. "So that does not count."

"When the facility was destroyed, you were not friends?" Mr. Roms asked as he made a note. "Strange that you were involved with them in Kalos, then."

Keith held his tongue, identifying that there was some kind of implied question, but not really wanting to figure it out. "What my colleague means to ask," Miss Ward eventually spoke up, "is how you came to be in the situations you were in. Fighting against a villainous organisation and all."

"Honestly, it was being at the wrong place at the wrong time." Keith shrugged before sipping his water. "Or the right place. I'm still not sure."

"And during those fights, did you ever see either suspect intentionally harm human or Pokémon?"

"Define 'intentionally harm'," Ms. Maki spoke up in response to the constable's question. "Pokémon battles aren't non-violent."

"Intentionally harm beyond what you'd recognise as normal, then," came the allowance.

It made Keith's answer all the easier. "No. Danny did not do that in Coumarine, and I split from them in Geosenge."

"I'm hearing nothing about Maple in Coumarine."

The middle-aged man was getting on Keith's nerves, and he took another sip to make sure he didn't spit something out in his anger. "Max was attacked himself at the start of that. A joltik used Thunder Fang on him."

"And of course, any harsh reaction from Mr. Maple's Pokémon is to be expected, given the injury to their Trainer," Ms Maki added helpfully, saying what Keith had been thinking. She phrased it better than he ever could. "What happened in Kalos is a matter of public record, easily looked up instead of asking my client about a time that his life was under threat."

"Alright. To the best of your knowledge, did Birch and Maple ever meet with..."

 **~~§~~§~~**

"I don't know if my colleague met my son and his friend," Norman said in response to the question he had just been asked. "If it happened… My best guess is that it was at the Ever Grande Conference of last December, but I struggle to think of the exact time. He was only there for a few days." He thought for a few seconds. "It is possible that Reginald flew out to meet them at some point, but then the window opens up to pretty much the full nine months between the boys leaving and the end of the Ever Grande Conference."

The police chief opposite Norman nodded slowly, making yet another note on his pad. "There was no indication of an unhealthy interest, such as asking after them constantly, wanting to see pictures..."

"Just the usual workplace gossip," Norman stated with absolute certainty. "If anything, he paid little attention to it."

"Any reason for that approach?"

"I never asked him, but..." Norman said, pausing to formulate his thoughts. "He is the type of Gym Leader who trusts his own observations in a Gym Battle over anything else."

"Earlier you mentioned that you thought it unlikely your son was responsible for the death of the kirlia. Can you explain that in more detail?"

"While with his sister, Max found a sick ralts," Norman said, hoping that the police would believe what he knew to be true. "Max took a shine to the Pokémon and took it to the Pokémon Center despite some thugs trying to intimidate him. He got there barely in time, and the two promised to meet up when Max was an actual Trainer." A short break to let the man finish scribbling. "Max and Danny left for Izabe Island, where Max had met the ralts, on the day they started out, but once they got there, they received the news that the Pokémon had been poached. He… Max didn't take it well."

"Could you elaborate?"

"Physical illness, thinking the world is ending like only pre-teens can," Norman said as he remembered those calls vividly. "He received a ralts figurine for Yule from one of his friends, and Danny gave him a T-shirt with ralts on it for his birthday. I think he mentioned getting on well with a boy from Kalos with one too."

The chief nodded, seeming to agree with Norman's implication that Max would not in a million years do intentional harm to a ralts or its evolutionary family. "Are there any contacts they have outside of Hoenn and Kalos? Places they might go to?"

"Professor Oak, two Gym Leaders, Ash Ketchum, all in Kanto," the Gym Leader listed off quickly. "But they took everything they needed to travel. If they wanted to go to Johto outright, they could. If Reginald doesn't hold them or something."

One final note, and the chief rose, prompting Norman to do that as well. "It's more likely that they left of their own volition. Evidence points that way. Whether it is from being misled or being truly involved… I cannot speculate."

The men agreed to share new information if it came to light, but privately, Norman wasn't expecting much. If Reginald had turned, he was more than capable of staying out of sight. If the teenagers were truly involved, they had enough of a brain to do the same until they reached Kalos, where they were legitimate heroes. There were enough ways of traversing the parts of the globe in between here and there. Expensive ways, often, but they were hardly poor.

Caroline waited for him just outside of the station, looking fragile, and they instantly embraced, drawing strength from each other. "Do you…" she started softly as they went on their way home. "Do you think they'll be found?"

He couldn't lie. Not to her. "I doubt it," Norman returned, equally softly, his throat scratchy. "I hope so, but…"

I thought the same," his wife admitted. "Did we do something wrong, Norman? Did we raise him wrong?"

"Never," he said, drawing her closer, emotions calmed by the contact. "If anything, we raised him too right."

 **~~§~~§~~**

Friday. One week into her sort-of-grounded punishment for getting into trouble. Sort of, because Serena and her Mum had been spending a lot of time together watching sappy films, having a spa visit, sharing normal stories about their travels, and the like. They were going to the rhyhorn racing tracks near Aquacorde that afternoon, something Serena actually looked forward to.

Maybe that stupid saying did have something to it, about absence making the heart grow fonder. She hadn't been on a racing rhyhorn since her knee was injured, over a year and a half before, but thanks to a miracle that had happened in Geosenge, there was absolutely nothing wrong with her knee any longer. Xerneas had healed it, and everything in a ten mile radius around the Legendary. Wounds had closed, concussions had vanished, broken bones had been mended – or unbroken, she amended, remembering Danny saying something about that – and even cancer patients in the Geosenge hospital had been fully healed in that one Heal Pulse.

Mum had been amazed as well, but to Serena's surprise, there hadn't been a real push to make her take up the family racing business. The reason they were going to the racing track was to teach, and not to race, and as far as she knew, that hadn't changed.

Maybe that habit had died. One that hadn't was that of getting up early by old-Serena standards. Over the year she'd spent with Danny and Max, she'd gotten used to rising at a reasonable hour, which was why she was grabbing some easy breakfast for the two of them as her mother took a shower to start the day. It was about half past eight, and quite sunny outside, with barely any clouds to be seen.

She ran through what she had to do. The oven was still warming up, the juice machine was clean, and the butter needed to stay in the fridge for now. She'd already grabbed glasses and plates, and with a quick look at the timer she'd set for the oven – still seven minutes – she walked towards the television, quickly turning it on, hoping to find something fun to watch.

As she was looking for the remote, however, Serena heard something she hadn't been expecting. "And now to our correspondent in Hoenn. Nicole, what can you tell us?"

"Well, Alain, we are waiting for a press conference from the Petalburg police for more details. So far, however, it seems that a warrant has been put out on Daniel Birch and Max Maple for allegedly participating in the destruction of a private research laboratory and being involved in the death of a Psychic-type Pokémon in there. They caught wind of the police wanting to arrest them, however, and flew on the back of several Dragon-type Pokémon. Rumours has it a Hoenn Gym Leader was involved with that, but no confirmation has been given for that."

"Sounds like your friends are in a bit of trouble with the law," her Mum's voice came from behind her, fletchling flying into the room as well and instantly finding the remote, muting the broadcast. "Did they tell you something about that?"

Serena quickly unmuted the broadcast. "… was destroyed in July of last year. It was set up to research Psychic-type Pokémon, though only one was actually present at the time."

July, a laboratory, a Psychic Pokémon… The ideas echoed around Serena's brain once before crashing into perfect clarity. She knew what that was referring to, and it was just so wrong.

"Serena?" her mother asked, gently poking her right arm. "Is it true? Did they do that?"

Before the Performer, soon-to-be-Coordinator, could reply, the doorbell rang, pretty insistently, and Serena jumped on the opportunity to not answer just yet. "Coming!" she shouted, wondering who it could be.

She had not been expecting Diantha and her gardevoir; the latter gently opening the door a bit further once Serena froze at the sight of the Kalos Champion. "I am sorry, Miss Galbena, Serena," Diantha said as she entered gracefully, immediately closing the door behind her. "But something happened that required me to go here."

"Serena, who is..." her Mum said as walked into the hallway as well, falling silent when she saw who had entered. "Err… Welcome, Champion."

"Mrs. Galbena," Diantha greeted with a small bow, Serena half-noticing her mother returning a full bow. "I apologise for dropping by unannounced, but overnight developments forced my hand," she said before turning to Serena once again. "Did you have any contact with your friends after they left Kalos?"

The thirteen year old shook her head. "No. But… They didn't do that. You—"

"I know," Diantha said soothingly, and the gardevoir tittered, a soft pulse of energy wafting over Serena, and a bit of tension drained from her body. "They only told me the barest details, but it was enough. On top of that, something like what they're accused of leaves an emotional mark: something empathic Pokémon can easily pick up on."

Serena understood immediately. "Like gardevoir could."

She was graced with the gentle smile that was basically Diantha's trademark. "Indeed. I have no doubt they are innocent of what they are charged with." A sigh, mirrored by the gardevoir. "But as good as my word is, I've only met them a few times, and there are a few in the government who would like a source closer to them. Just to confirm everything."

There was something slightly off about what Diantha was saying, Serena felt, but she had no idea what it was, or even where to start. It also didn't matter. Danny and Max were her friends, and she'd tell the truth about them until she fell over from exhaustion. "Mum? I know that..."

"Go get dressed Serena. I'll finish up our breakfast. She is still allowed to eat that before leaving, right?"

"I wouldn't come between anyone and their breakfast."

Barely twenty minutes later, Serena found herself standing in front of a very recognisable building: the Kalos Foreign Affairs building in all its old and stately glory. She'd been here once before, on a two day trip with school, not long before tearing her ACL, and as she remembered that, she recalled something else. Only a few people actually worked here. Most people working for the Foreign Affairs ministry worked somewhere else down town. "Uh… Champion Diantha? Who exactly wanted to know more?"

Diantha smiled down at the teenager, and her gardevoir sent over reassurance. "Quite a few people, right up to the President." That caused Serena to freeze, and she felt a hand squeeze her shoulder. "Don't worry. We all want to help your friends."

"Okay..." Serena said softly as they walked up the stairs. The door opened before them, revealing a richly decorated entrance hall, with two people waiting at the end, the taller male standing behind the elegantly dressed woman in her late twenties, if Serena had to guess.

At a lark, Serena glanced left, spotting a duo of stoic and bulky guards to their right, a pitch-black Pokémon half-hidden in the shadow of a plinth. She put the umbreon out of mind as Diantha led the way.

"Champion Diantha, Miss Serena Galbena," the woman said, the hard, almost harsh, way she said the words revealing she was from around Laverre. "Good to see you at such short notice. President Lumière was adamant we find out the veracity of the claims the Hoenn government are making."

Somehow, Serena didn't feel the woman thought much of those claims, and it was with a slightly lighter heart that she let herself be led deeper into the building.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Brock cooking dinner for Ash, Misty, and himself felt just like old times. Even if it had been nearly four years since they had last travelled with just the three of them, before Misty went back to the Cerulean Gym, it genuinely felt as if nothing had changed. "We need to do this more often," Ash said as he pushed his plate back on the round table. "And I'm not just saying that because I just want to taste Brock's cooking!" he added before Misty could add a teasing remark.

"It's fun. Like old times. Not sure why we didn't do it before," Misty agreed, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "I mean, Brock and I meet up every so often anyway for Gym Leader stuff. No reason we can't do something like this afterwards. It's cheaper and better than a restaurant."

"And Ash has charizard to get around from anywhere in the region," Brock added as he sat back, looking pleased with himself at the compliments. "I should know."

Ash grinned. He'd sent charizard to get Brock over to Misty's place in Cerulean. "I prefer walking somewhere, but for going somewhere fast, it's great." He wiped the grin off his face, knowing what was to come. "I need to tell you something."

"If you've somehow found yourself a girlfriend before Brock did, colour me surprised," Misty replied instantly, and Ash found himself glad he wasn't drinking anything.

Brock wasn't as lucky, and pikachu went into a coughing fit of his own.

"Nothing like that," Ash said after everyone had recovered. "I think I need to come out and say I'm a member of the Pokémon G-men. Officially, I mean."

Both of them worked through the statement. Misty was faster. "This wouldn't have anything to do with what happened in Hoenn, right?"

"You are basically implicated in it already," Brock added. "It's just that accusing people without actual proof is frowned upon. Wonder how they got proof for Max and Danny..." A soft shake of the head. "I'm assuming the account that was put out from Kalos matches yours pretty closely, by the way."

Ash had seen that, and he had wondered how it had been so accurate until Lance had informed him of the source: the girl that had accompanied Max and Danny in Kalos. "Pretty much identical. That's why Lance is pushing me to go public, too. It adds legitimacy, he said."

"You wouldn't be able to do stealth missions any longer." Ash looked over at Misty, who turned her head to look at pikachu meaningfully when she caught Ash's gaze. "But that's no harm. You're pretty pants at subtlety."

"I can be subtle," Ash protested.

"With great effort for little gain, and you'd have to give pikachu up for them anyway," Misty countered. "Meanwhile, you have a team of Pokémon that's great at crisis response and visibly helping. I don't see the downside."

Across the table, Brock nodded slowly. "Misty is right. There aren't any real downsides, and we might be able to make people look at the G-men more favourably if you do it really right. Emphasise you've got a bit of experience with stopping big Legendary fights and all that." He put a hand to his chin. "Going to need a good press release for that..."

"We can't just say I am a member and be done with it?" Ash asked, not able to keep the whine out of his voice, and flinching at the 'are you stupid?' looks he was given. "Can you help me?"

"Wouldn't have mentioned it otherwise. Misty?"

The redhead shrugged. "I'm not great at stuff like this, but Lily is. Mind if I see if she can help?"

Any help was help Ash was going to accept, and the redhead soon went into an adjacent room to make the call. "You said something about the big Legendary fights?"

"Be honest, Ash. How many times have we – you, really – found and fought or really helped some kind of Legendary?"

Ash wasn't even certain himself. "Shamouti, Greenfield, Celebi," he started, counting on his fingers. "Lugia in the Whirl Islands, Altomare, Jirachi, LaRousse, Groudon and Kyogre, Tree of Beginning, Manaphy." He ran out of fingers, but there was only one left. "And Alamos Town in Sinnoh."

"That's eleven times. I'm sure one or two of those we can use and not remind everyone that Pokémon can be dangerous too." The Rock-type Gym Leader thought for a moment, hand on chin. "I've got an idea, but..."

The black-haired teenager let out a deep sigh, knowing where Brock was heading. "Altomare or the Tree of Beginning?"

"Altomare." Brock did look sorry for bringing it up. "That, and the Whirl Islands."

Misty returned before Ash could reply. "Caught her on a free night. She's coming over in ten minutes." She sat down, taking a closer look at Ash. "Brock suggested we use Altomare as an example?"

"How..."

"I've got a working brain," came the interjection. "And as stupidly upbeat as you are, there's only like four topics that get you _this_ down anyway." The clock on the wall let out eight seel barks. "I can explain it to Lily if you want me to."

"No," Ash said, surprising himself. "I mean… It'd give her a better idea of what I feel about it if I did it, right? So I should do it."

"If you're sure..."

Honestly, he wasn't, but he'd jumped in now.

 **~~§~~§~~**

A large stadium on a hill overshadowed the Pummelo Island harbour and adjacent town, visible from the moment the sun rose above the horizon. The S.S. Brian was deftly navigated to a free pier, but when Max and Danny made to disembark, they were held back by the ship's owner. "You've thought about what to do when Kanto doesn't accept you?" the former Elite Four member asked gruffly, wearing his usual captain's clothing and a plain white shirt underneath. "We can't take you, you know this."

"Then we're in deep shit," Max replied, shrugging. "It's too far to Kalos and of the Home Regions, Kanto is the best option."

It wasn't ideal, Max and Drake both knew, but the Dragon-type Master nodded regardless. "Let's hope Reginald managed to convince the bureaucrats, then."

"Weren't you all about not trusting in hope?" Danny asked from Max's side, shuffling a foot on the wooden deck. "You told Max something like that on top of Meteor Falls."

"Hah. Well-remembered, but for one detail. I said to not leave to chance that which you can control," Drake said, looking and sounding pleased. "You can't control this. Someone with more life experience than you might be able to minimise negative outcomes, but even the most slick sliver-tongued politician in all the world can't control events on this scale." Danny made a noise of understanding. "Now go, and nurture the fire that burns within you."

"The fire that burns within us?" Danny echoed a minute later as they reached the beginning of the pier. "Sounds like something Dad might say."

Max took a step sideways to avoid bumping into a munchlax waddling past. "Fire needs fuel, right? That explains why you ate so much on board."

"And that's why you're still small," Danny retorted instantly, gleefully. "Well, you getting seasick on Saturday didn't help..."

On cue, Max's stomach gurgled, reminding them that breakfast hadn't happened yet, since they had been so close to the harbour the night before. Max checked his watch: quarter to eight. "Thanks for reminding me and my stomach," he said, fishing his wallet from his pocket and checking how much he had on hand. "About seven thousand. Should be plenty for breakfast. That first, then Pokémon Center?"

A bit of murmured agreement later, the teenagers set off to find something that was actually open. From where they'd stood, Max had spotted at least one place to find some dinner, but most of those only opened at nine, which was when the earliest ferries from other islands in the area came in after an overnight trip. Fitzwilliam had wanted to avoid those specifically because they'd just make everything troublesome.

A small corner shop proved to be the first place they could actually buy food in, and though the woman at the register gave them a surprised look, she didn't press for questions why the obviously non-native boys – the Orange Islands had as much sun a year as Hoenn, and neither of them were that tanned after spending a year in Kalos – were out for food that early. They kept it simple, Max picking up a portion of steamed rice and some fruit, while Danny grabbed a few sandwiches.

They sat down on a nearby bench as the sun started to peek through the clouds that had been overhead, and started eating. Max was halfway through his breakfast when Danny's fingers rapped on the wood. "Anything you want to do while we're here?" he asked.

"Find out if we're allowed into Kanto."

Danny waved Max's words away. "After that. Reginald's on that, and you've got a few friends who can vouch for us."

Being relentlessly optimistic had been Danny's way of dealing with everything, Max thought, and he pushed his annoyance down. If it made him feel better… "Well… Ash won in the Orange League and there's a Hall of Fame here. I wanna check that out, and if there's a match scheduled before we have to leave, maybe try to watch it."

"Have to make sure we're not out of funds completely before that," Danny remarked. "I just hope we can withdraw from a Kalos bank here."

"We signed up for worldwide service because you wanted it," Max reminded Danny. They'd gone for a Kalosian account because Home Regions banks were incredibly strict on foreign withdrawals, most of them not allowing more than four thousand Pokédollars per day. "I still don't get why you wanted that."

Danny's laugh was a bit embarrassed. "Well… I was afraid I'd forget to fix everything while we were home after Kalos, and I didn't want to be out of funds. Hey," he added when Max turned to him in disbelief. "I didn't know about the withdrawal limits, and I didn't want to be caught out again."

The blue-haired teenager shook his head, feeling a grin on his face despite it all. "And then we couldn't close the accounts while in Kalos because we were still waiting for prize and award money..." Another shake. "That idea of yours worked out pretty well, I'd say."

"It did—"

A sweeping and intense burst of string instruments interrupted Danny as someone rang Max's Pokénav for the first time since they'd left Petalburg, now a week back to the day. "Hang on… I know that number," Max muttered as he saw the display, quickly pressing a button to accept the call. "Yes?"

"Ah, hello Max," came the instantly recognisable voice of Professor Oak. "I know you're on Pummelo Island. Can you get to the Pokémon Center as soon as you can and call me back?"

And with that, the Professor hung up, leaving two very confused teenagers sitting on a bench.

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _When asked about the press release that Ketchum put out, Lord Charles Cavendish, owner of the destroyed laboratory, had the following to say:_ "It does not surprise me that a more powerful Trainer was present at the time. The involvement of the Pokémon G-men is troubling, however,. My understanding was that their mandate was more restrictive than this. It should be ascertained whether any agreements or laws were broken by this unilateral operation on sovereign soil, and if so, what that means for the status of this once venerable organisation."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** To my surprise when checking Bulbapedia, Pummelo is actually one of the more northerly Orange Islands, making it a perfect drop-off poin **t** without going into Pallet immediately. ****

As a reminder: Pokédollars are analogous to yen.


	5. The Psychic Connection

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 4: The Psychic Connection**

When Oak was halfway through the article he was reading for peer review, the phone rang, caller identification revealing it came from the Orange Islands. A quick check on the clock revealed it was barely half past eight, not even twenty minutes after his own call to Pummelo Island. Good time, though Oak wagered both teenagers had hurried there to figure out the mystery that he had presented them with. A bit predictable, but that was understandable.

He looked down as he rose from his chair, spotting a pink Pokémon in the same spot as she had been. "Go get our guest, will you?" he asked, and the Fairy-type nodded, half-walking, half-hopping off, as was habitual.

A few seconds later, Oak answered the call, and two confused-looking teenagers came into view. They'd found a private booth as well. Most excellent. "It's good to see the two of you safe and sound," he told Max and Bir – Danny, he corrected himself. "Though I have to say Max looks a little pale around the edges there."

"Short night, and I can't sleep all that well on moving things anyway," the younger teenager said, his best friend nodding beside him. "How did you know I'd switched my Pokénav back on?"

Oak didn't answer immediately, instead pulling his inbox up on an adjacent screen. "A good guess. Let's just say that a mutual friend told me you would likely be where you are right now from today onward." Ah, there it was. "He made it here safe, and has been fervently clamouring for himself and the two of you to be granted asylum, by the way. Last I heard, he was making headway."

He knew more than that, but confidentiality oaths prohibited him from telling them that. Even so, just the minute amount of good news seemed to take a burden off of the boys' shoulders. "So… Should we go to Kanto?"

"It might be best to wait a day or two for confirmation. I don't quite think that'll be a chore for you." Not when Oak knew the Orange Archipelago Champion had a challenge scheduled for Sunday. They'd probably find that out soon enough on their own, if he wasn't mistaken. "Your Pokémon are all here, by the way," he added, and neither of them looked surprised by that. "Well-trained, though your shelgon got in a bit of trouble, Max."

"Huh?"

Oak smiled, helped by the rap on his open door – the sign he had agreed upon with the Pokémon he'd sent away earlier, after the initial call. "Turns out he wanted to butt heads with one of Ash's tauros. Shelgon lost that exchange and ruined a fence on landing."

Max seemed to be torn between being embarrassed and wanting to smile at what Oak assumed to be well-known antics, while Danny let out a sharp laugh. "He's okay, right?"

"Only his ego was hurt. It takes rather more to hurt a shelgon, and even then, someone's audino was nearby. The only reason I know is because Tracey saw it and told me. Otherwise, I would just have assumed the tauros had broken the fence. Again." A finger, below the view of the camera, beckoned the waiting Pokémon closer. "There's something else I need to talk to you about. Specifically… There's another Pokémon here waiting for you, Max."

That seemed to surprise the boy, though he recovered quickly. "I'm sorry, but… What, Professor?"

"The day before yesterday, a Pokémon appeared before Professor Birch. A gardevoir, to be exact." Oak heard the Pokémon move up to him. "He was exhausted beyond belief, but he managed to share an image of something that left my colleague quite shocked. Something about a room with steel walls?"

Whatever that room indicated, it caused Max's expression to both harden and become brittle, while Danny grimaced before compassion took over, mixed with a hint of confusion. "If it's the same room… _How?"_

The teenager visibly had to rein himself in, and Oak let it happen. The outburst was telling, and on the side, Danny seemed tempted to do something alien to teenage boys as well. It was a place of importance to them, and from what Oak knew, there were few that would qualify for such a reaction out of the two.

Then the gardevoir moved into view, behind Oak, and a moment later, palpable waves of relief surged outward. He straightened his back against the pleasurable sensation, but as he did so, he noticed Max scrutinising the Psychic-type. "What is it?"

"He… You're not one of the adult gardevoir, are you?" Max said, hesitating and uncertain, and for the first time, Oak had not even an inkling of what the teenager was on about.

" _BROTHER."_

The word echoed around his head, bouncing off the inside of his skull, but fading. Oak rubbed his temples, opening his eyes from when he'd reflexively closed them. Whatever this gardevoir could do, subtle telepathy wasn't on the list, and perhaps it hadn't been all shock that had caused Maxim's writing to be worse than usual. "He just projected the word 'brother' into my… Max?"

"You were a kirlia. And you could use telepathy," Max told the Psychic-type standing behind Oak. "But… You're not one of the others. I just know." The boy's glasses went off, making him look years younger and allowing two hands to rub at closed eyes. "If… If you're his brother… What did he do for me when we first met?"

Oak turned sideways, looking at the gardevoir, who glowed with energy before making clefairy float in front of him. Gently, if the lack of complaining was anything to go by.

Whatever that indicated, he didn't know, but Max did. "It… It really is you. But… How?"

"I would love to hear the full story, but I think we might be better off trying to do that in person," Oak said, taking over the conversation again as a preliminary warning popped up on the second screen. The daily meeting was due to start in ten minutes. "I'll ask Sabrina for a loan of a fully telepathy-capable Pokémon for sometime next week, and you make your way over here. The boat from Hamlin to Pallet leaves every Wednesday and Saturday."

Danny nodded after he noticed that Max was off in another world. "We'll try to make our way there, then."

"Good." Oh, alright, he should probably throw them a bone. "Don't worry too much about the asylum, by the way. If nothing else, Reginald has got a silver tongue."

That elicited a grin from the older teen, really driving home the family resemblance. "Yup."

 **~~§~~§~~**

It was after dark already when Max and Danny made their way back to the Pokémon Center from the least populated area of Pummelo they could find for a bit of training. Max only had espurr on him for Pokémon who could keep stray attacks in check, and with Pummelo being essentially entirely urban, Trainers were reminded that they were responsible for any damage to buildings. It meant more intense training with ranged attacks had to be skipped, but setting up simple dodge and close-range combat practice was easy enough to do.

Unfortunately, both of them had forgotten their Pokénav – Max thinking Danny had it with him and vice versa – and so they had to make their way back without a map of any kind. "This brings back memories."

"Did you ever get lost in a city before?" Danny asked as he led them into a narrow alleyway that looked promising.

Max shrugged, to the annoyance of the espurr travelling on his shoulder. "Probably. Kind of lost track at some point. Ash is capable of getting lost in my Dad's greenhouse, pretty much."

"Weren't you the navigator for all of you?"

"Didn't mean they listened," Max said, though he knew that he'd led the group astray a few times as well. Danny knew that as well. "It… What the hell?"

Expanding dark smoke appeared in front of the two teenagers, blocking their path. A hissing sound from behind suggested that it had happened there as well. It reminded Max entirely too much of what had happened way too many times while with Ash.

"Prepare for trouble, and prepare to lose!"

"And make it double, whichever path you choose!"

It really was just like back then, and it was all Max could do to not break out in hysterical laughter right there. A bunch of Team Rocket grunts – not any he'd met before, he thought – had ambushed them and were looking to steal their Pokémon. "Cut the motto, Team Rocket," he yelled when the hidden duo was just about to introduce themselves. "Don't care about your names. You're not taking our Pokémon."

"Says you and which Pokémon," one of them said from above them, and Max saw the two of them step into vision on a nearby rooftop, framed against some weak lights. "We have a galvantula and a lampent. That's a lot better than your pesky masquerain and espurr! Attack!"

A lance of electricity flew towards Max from the front, but espurr was faster, throwing up a Light Screen dome first and pushing generic psionic energy out second, both diluting the Thundershock to something that Max barely recognised as static charge, let alone a Pokémon attack. "You take care of the lampent?"

"Deal," Danny said, and Max heard him shout something to masquerain as espurr moved out of the Light Screen barrier, immediately sending a Disarming Voice down the alleyway.

It failed to make much headway into the smokescreen up ahead. Smog, then. "Psybeam."

The quick initial beam espurr threw out reacted violently with the toxic cloud hanging in front of them – somehow – and she fed the reaction, causing the galvantula to skitter away, Max spotting it climb up a building with the help of a web he hadn't noticed in the dark.

Espurr noticed as well, and after reinforcing the Light Screen once and dodging a Signal Beam that now crashed into the ground – Max felt wind tug at the legs of his trousers from it – she headed up as well with a mighty jump. "Get it!"

Confusion flowed out, meeting an Electroball, and for a moment, the Electric-type attack actually seemed to overpower the grey Pokémon's attack, but then espurr _pushed_ , and with a shrill cry, she sent the ball and Confusion into the spider.

And triggered her evolution in the process.

"Way to go, meowstic!" Max yelled with his eyes closed from the blinding light, and he felt Danny look around to check the newly evolved Pokémon out. "Go get that galvantula!"

Meowstic delivered, using the rush of evolution to rapidly gather enough Psychic energy that Max could feel it from twenty-odd feet away, before launching the jagged bolts at the Unovan Pokémon. It tried to dodge, but a quick adjustment made sure meowstic caught it.

And then the galvantula screeched in agony as the Psychic connected, overloading its nervous system as meowstic probed into mind and body. It went on just long enough to make Max wince from the high-pitched sound, but it stopped as suddenly as it had started, and he spotted his feline Pokémon sagging a bit. She'd obviously put too much into the attack, but after that, Max was pretty sure the galvantula wasn't capable of fighting any longer.

"Got a hand here?" Danny asked, breaking through Max's studying of the galvantula. "Just so we can go back?"

Max's answer was to quickly grab the second and fourth pokéballs on his belt, sending out manectric onto the roof and ninjask into the air. "Ninjask, lampent. Manectric, Thunder Wave the Rockets."

Five minutes later, meowstic had recovered enough to help Max and Danny onto the rooftop where two male Team Rocket grunts were still twitching from too much electricity in their system. "Idiots," Max muttered as he saw that they only had the two Pokémon, which had been knocked out and given the same paralysis treatment on top of that. "Thought you could take on two Trainers with the two of you and some smog. No traps, no trying to get us away from our Pokémon..."

"Don't give them ideas, Max," Danny said, chuckling as he walked around the fallen pair. "And congratulations on the evolution, meowstic."

Meowstic reacted as only felines could: with carefully cultivated disdain. Mostly at the Rockets, though. "Stic."

 **~~§~~§~~**

Pallet Town was exactly as it had been the last time Max was there: silent, quaint, and a soothing sight all around. The Oak Laboratory was visible in the distance from where the boat had moored, but as much as Max wanted to just use xatu to Teleport there, they couldn't. For one: xatu was actually there, and not with him. For another, and more importantly: they had a Kanto government official to meet. Professor Oak had set it up, telling them that being willing to talk the moment they got in would look good.

The official would've been recognisable even if they hadn't been told that they would have to look out for a man in his twenties with very short orange-red hair: the three piece suit standing out like a magmar in snow. He, in turn, recognised Max and Danny before they crossed the terminal, and with a quick nod towards them, motioned towards a door on the side.

They sat down in a regular office, a man leaving it as soon as the three of them entered. "Misters Birch, Maple," the man said as he sat down, a few documents coming out of a briefcase. "My name is Patrick Baker. I am here to ask you about the former Hoenn Gym Leader Reginald's claims of yourselves and him needing asylum from Hoenn's government." Another item was placed on the small desk between them. "I will record the conversation. At my mark, please state your name so that others listening in might identify you." The mark was duly given, and both of them did as ordered before the government official pressed another button on the recorder. "Now, before we continue, could you read the following document?"

He handed them a sheet of paper each. Max quickly skimmed it, finding that it was a summary of the press release Ash had put out combined with some of the details of what had happened back when the three of them had assaulted the facility.

"Now," Baker said after both of the teens were done reading, Danny taking far longer than Max. "On the one hand, we have reports put out from the Hoenn government that state that it was a private research facility and all legal. On the other hand, there are various others like the Kalosian government, and several of Kanto's high-level Trainers, who have gone on record as saying that nefarious events were happening in there. I would like to hear from just you, Mister Birch, how it was that you discovered the location that you thrashed."

"Uh..." Danny started, scrunching his face as he thought back. "Ash, Ash Ketchum, led us there. It was pretty out of the way in the mountains, miles off of any big or even small Route."

"And how did he lead you there?"

"There was…" Another deep dive into memory. "Some kind of counter. For specific waves that had been used in Johto by Team Rocket, I think. Something about the Lake of Rage and a gyarados?"

A quick note was made, but in shorthand Max couldn't even begin to identify upside down. "Which Pokémon did Mister Ketchum use to watch over the man that had been guarding the entrance, Mister Maple?"

"Charizard," Max answered instantly. "Told him to knock the man out if he yelled," he added, seeing Baker about to ask for something more.

"And how did he open the door that led to the main chamber in the facility?"

"Sceptile used Quick Attack on it."

"I see." Another note. "Mister Birch, what did Mister Maple do during the fight in that chamber?"

Max didn't understand why Danny had to think about that. That had been on the sheet: 'Maple used Ketchum's sceptile and his treecko to defeat an ursaring.' He had seen that much in his skim, noticing his name. Eventually, though, Danny reached the same answer, and gave it.

"Who first spotted the kirlia?"

"Danny did," Max answered calmly. The memory resurfaced in his head, as vivid now as it had ever been.. "Sceptile broke him out of the tank."

Baker nodded, then smiled, to Max's surprise. "This concludes the recording," he said, and with a quick motion, he took the hand-held recorder back.

"Er… Mister Baker? What's going on?" Danny asked, and Max was glad Danny was similarly confused. He certainly had no idea what was going on.

The adult reached over the table, pushing the sheets of paper along the wooden desk, only to end up side by side. "I lied. I gave you slightly different documents, each having details the other did not."

Understanding sparked to life. "And you asked us questions about what wasn't on our document, but only on the other's," Max said, feeling his mouth settle into a wide grin. "That's clever!"

"You got all of that from five questions?" Danny asked, sounding a bit confused still. "There were a lot more details on there. Some of them I barely remember..."

"Blame your friend for that. It was his lack of reading and perfect answering that convinced me," Baker told them, nodding towards Max with his head. "Insofar as I had doubts after you had two Gym Leaders, the Grand Champion, a League Champion, and Professor Oak tell us in the government that you didn't do exactly what you were accused of."

Danny was quicker on the uptake. "So… We're okay now? We… We get the asylum?"

A shake of the head made Max's grin vanish faster than ice before a volcano. "Presumably. There are regulations that have to be followed, and Hoenn is certain to raise objections. I would not count on being allowed to leave freely for a while." A small semblance of a smile returned, though it looked a bit forced to Max. "Professor Oak barely won the argument that you should be allowed to stay in Pallet Town. As opposed to house arrest somewhere," the official added.

Staying in Pallet Town wasn't exactly a problem, Max thought. Sure, they couldn't travel, but there was always something interesting going on at Professor Oak's laboratory, and maybe Ash would drop by at some point too… "Guess we're staying here, then."

"I'll try to convince them to speed the process up, but I'm just a junior official," Baker said self-deprecatingly as he rose from his chair, packing everything back into his briefcase with quick efficiency and sticking his pen into a hidden trouser pocket. A kadabra came out, revealing how the man had come here. "I trust you'll be able to find your way to Professor Oak's? Not like you can miss it," he added when both teenagers snorted. "A good day to both of you."

Max and Danny quickly exited the office, finding the harbourmaster waiting for them in the terminal itself, and after a short and muttered thanks for allowing them to use the room, the boys exited the warm building into Kanto proper.

 **~~§~~§~~**

He felt them. They were through the locked door, where the important human, the one everyone called Professor as if it was his first name, was welcoming them. He had been for a minute or two already, ignorant of the apprehension that burned within one of the duo and the mixture of worry and wonder within the other. The adult, meanwhile, exuded nothing but patience and compassion.

He hadn't yet seen them in person. He'd seen them once in an old picture, and several times through the emotionless lens of long-distance communication devices. Upon the first time that he had, the gardevoir had been shocked at how similar and yet different they looked. Mostly the other one, who had somehow attained hair of a different colour, as well as a more angular face that was both recognisably similar to and different from the one time they had met. A brief conversation with the clefairy had assured him that they were still the same two as before, just growing up.

Strangely, there was a hint of uncomfortable familiarity emanating from the youngest of the three. It felt like that place in the mountains; the place he had evolved in, and he wondered if his mother and the other elders had felt this as well, when Max had joined them in the congregation, approximately fifteen moons ago. The evolution had greatly augmented his senses, to the point of initial human contact – a passing-by young girl in some forest to the south of where he had evolved – almost overwhelming him until he had reduced the strength of his empathic senses. She had not fared much better, but a fellow Psychic-type interceding on both her and his behalf had stopped the situation from getting out of hand.

Now, it was as it had been since he had evolved for the first time, though with less psionic strength required.

A lock clicked, and the door opened soundlessly after, the Professor leading. He nodded at the gardevoir before stepping to the side, leaving unimpeded vision of someone who had barely changed at all since they had last met in person.

His brother's savour was maybe three inches taller, as tall as he himself was, and there were new glasses to help him see, but otherwise… It was as if celebi had transported him to many moons ago, but only superficially. Beneath the surface, different emotions bubbled. There was no invigorating mix of nervousness and hope running through the boy, nor melancholy and determination as there had been when they had last met. It was recognition, remembered sorrow, and relaxation. "It's really you..." Max stated as he closed the distance. "But… How did you get here?"

"He arrived at the Littleroot Pokémon Laboratory sometime late last Wednesday," the adult said, instantly commanding Danny's attention in full, but not Max's. "My colleague divined that it was someone you knew, and sent him here."

"You didn't ask?"

"I'd be surprised if your government _didn't_ monitor calls your uncle makes," a gentle admonition flowed from understanding. "He is attempting to keep his job after your flight. A well-hidden and short note was all he could give."

That sent surprise and fear soaring. "Uncle might lose his job?"

"No," came a darkly amused response. "There wouldn't be any serious replacement, and with how long your uncle's been at it… Many more people are inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt than they are you. The same goes for Max's father." The Professor sat down in a high-backed chair. "You need more than guilt-by-association to get rid of Gym Leaders or Professors. As long as they don't contact you directly, there isn't much that can be done."

The small lie went unchallenged, though it didn't feel important.

Danny realised something, and confusion arose. "How did uncle realise he was, well… Ralts's brother? They never met."

Some tension, physical and mental, appeared in the older man. "I asked gardevoir the same question. The answer I got was twofold. First, a telepathic projection of a picture of the two of you, from around when you left. Maxim had it on a shelf somewhere in his laboratory. Second, an image of Max sitting against a tree in some unknown location, playing with a ralts on his knees." A soft shake. "They were as as uncomfortable as what occurred during our call."

The gardevoir shifted uncomfortably, expecting wary looks, but not receiving any. "Not every gardevoir is skilled at telepathy," Danny said with utter surety. "And evolving does strange things to Pokémon, right Max?"

It was only now that gardevoir noticed that Max's emotions had shifted into something different: puzzlement and curiosity at trying to figure something out. "Yeah," he said softly, mind half elsewhere before he shook his head vigorously. "Sorry. There's something… Familiar about gardevoir. Something I didn't feel last time we met, I'm sure of it."

Shock permeated the room, and belatedly, the Pokémon realised it was his own, projected outwards with enough strength that everyone noticed, Max visibly more than the other two. The youngest human recoiled on instinct, while the others frowned. Clamping down provided palpable relief for all of them.

"Interesting..." the Professor said as he stood up, studying both gardevoir and blue-haired human. "Can you try your telepathy on Max, please? Tell him what you told me last night."

It was an odd request, and one that definitely caused all others to be taken aback, but quiet certainty floated within the older man. Even so, gardevoir felt he had to gain Max's permission first, but as he gazed into glass-covered eyes, he knew the answer before empathy could pick up on it.

Telepathy had always been similar to empathy to him, but whereas empathy stopped, telepathy dove over the mental threshold, pushing something into the other's senses. It was different for other ralts, kirlia, gardevoir: his mother had told him and his brother when they were both still ralts, shortly before his evolution. She had said empathy was all about taking, whereas telepathy was all about giving. Ralts, at that time, had been slightly too young to understand fully.

Since he had evolved into gardevoir, however, he couldn't find the subtle hitch that indicated when he had pushed into someone. Not with the girl, not with both Professors. As he reached out towards Max, though, he felt it, almost immediately. _"I want to join you."_

Various emotions cycled through Max; none of them painful. The cousins shock and surprise, followed by fleeting regret and healed sorrow, settling into doubt and uncertainty. The latter was directed at the Professor. "How… How did he tell you that? I thought telepathic communication didn't work?"

"I'm assuming it worked for you," the grey-haired man observed drily, amusement flitting about. "I asked, after seeing him hang around your Pokémon a lot. A simple question can be answered with nods or shakes, you do realise."

"Wait, hold up," Danny interjected as glee was lifted upwards on the wings of satisfaction and slight surprise. "You want to join him?"

Gardevoir nodded, projecting confidence outwards and making sure he held back in Max's direction.

"You know he turned down a ralts Egg, right?"

Though he nodded, the point of the question eluded him. He had been there, and the fragile conviction that Max had displayed in doing so had only proved the rightness of the offer in the first place.

"And you're not going to take 'no' for an answer, are you?"

He shook his head, stunning the white-haired teenager mid-swagger. _"It's your choice,"_ the Psychic-type sent. _"Should you not want for similar reasons as in the congregation, I will accept."_ As much as it would hurt him.

If it hadn't been for the gardevoir's empathy, Max turning away would've been a world-shattering moment; the kind that defined lives. Now, it wasn't. "Professor?" Max asked, voice level, obscuring the decision made inside for a moment longer. "I know they're expensive, but do you have any Friend-brand pokéballs lying around?"

Gardevoir didn't know what that meant, but his Trainer seemed determined to get the different pokéball, even after he quietly added – amidst continued elation that he could still use telepathy effectively – that any pokéball would do. He desired to travel with Max, and his friend too, and the method in which that happened was irrelevant. The quick acceptance just meant he wouldn't have to spend time arguing why he wanted to join.

As it was, step one of his ardent desideratum was complete.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Keith's mother was already home when he returned with the groceries for the weekend. He'd been stopped twice by people he vaguely remembered from before he left, asking stuff about Danny and Max. It was annoying, and he would've liked nothing more than to just tell them where to shove it.

Unfortunately, they all knew his mother, and she wouldn't stand for that, so… That was out.

"More of the same, dear?" Mum asked from the dinner table as he closed the fridge with perhaps a bit too much force. It rattled, as did the pans standing on top of it. "They just want to know what happened."

Keith sighed. "I know, but… I've told the same thing like… thirty times now. I'm getting tired of being asked."

"Is that why you're planning on leaving next week, instead of after Yule?"

Her words froze him, but they weren't accusing. Keith thought Mum sounded resigned, and when he turned to look at her, that seemed true. "How..."

"You left your ticket in your coat. The one you didn't wear even if it's breezy outside," she gently admonished him. "When were you going to tell me this?"

She didn't look angry, Keith thought. That was good, but it was still better to be honest to her. After what his father had done… Mum never liked lying, punishing even the smallest lie heavily when he was younger. The only reason he wasn't under house arrest for three weeks is because he'd just not told her what had happened in Geosenge until the award ceremony.

And maybe Jane's parents had something to do with it. His girlfriend had mentioned something…

"Tonight. That's why I had it there, so I could get it," Keith told her softly. He took a deep breath, hoping to calm himself but failing. "It's just… I don't want to stay here, Mum. It's been two weeks and people still don't shut up about it. I just want peace and calm and..."

"Some alone time with your girlfriend," his mother interrupted him, placing a finger on his lips. Keith's face heated up at the truth. "You know running away doesn't fix most problems, right?"

The teenager nodded, and he saw a strand of red hair bounce up and down. "It only makes them worse because you put off dealing with them," he repeated the lesson his mother had tried to teach him many times. "But in Sinnoh, they wouldn't ask me about Danny and Max as much."

That seemed to get through to Mum. "That's true," she said, sliding an envelope across the table with visible resignation. Keith recognised it as a hospital bill, and he quickly grabbed it. "Keith, that's private!"

He ignored his mother, instead opening the envelope and skimming the contents. "Mum… This is way more expensive than your previous meds were." Nearly triple, if he wasn't wrong. "C'mon Mum. I'm fourteen. I've known about how tight money has been for _years._ Can you even afford this?"

The bill was snatched out of his hands, but no admonition came. "I don't have to feed you, remember? It's a lot of money, but it'll be fine for one month. Next month, it's covered by my new insurance."

"And will it be cheaper then? Than before, I mean."

"About the same." His mother got out of her chair, and without a warning, hugged him. Keith relented after a moment. "You don't need to worry. I know it hasn't always been easy, but while we've never had a lot of money, I haven't had to borrow any in years."

The teenager wondered for a moment when the last time could have been – it was before he had realised money was tight. "The time that the granbull ruined the living room? Just before my ninth birthday?"

"Good memory!" his mother praised. "Yes. It was covered under home insurance, but granbull's owner didn't want to take responsibility and it was just a huge mess." She cast a look at the sofa they'd had ever since. "I tried to space things out, but then you caught that bug that kept me home for two weeks and, well..."

"You did the best you could, Mum," Keith said honestly. "And there's still money left over now?"

"Less than I want," his mother confirmed. "But that's what putting money aside is for. As you well know, mister."

Keith did. The reward for saving Kalos had come in, and he had wasted no time in sending most of it to the savings account that he couldn't access until he was sixteen. The allowance from the government was plenty for him, and between travelling with Jane, looking out for cheap deals, and Kalosian prices being generally lower… He wasn't wanting for money.

An idea zipped into his head, and he instantly decided that he wanted to try for it. "Actually… Do you want to spend Yule with us? In Sinnoh?"

"You're not… Of course you're not," Mum corrected herself. "Coming back when you've left a week before would be stupid." Keith saw her take a deep breath. "I don't think it's a good idea. I could afford it, but there wouldn't be a lot left."

"I could pay for it."

Keith tried to show that he really wanted to and that he didn't intend to take no for an answer. It seemed to work as he saw his mother back down from her gut reaction. "And where will you stay?"

"Jane's parents invited me to celebrate Yule with them after they heard I wanted to leave early. Originally, I was going up to meet them between Yule and the new year," he added, seeing his mother nod as he reminded her of what had been the plan before. "But the important thing is that they rented some kind of house for _six_ people, and there's still a spot open."

She didn't look convinced, and it took Keith over an hour of dismantling arguments why he shouldn't do that to make her relent. Even then, he suspected it was because she was tired of arguing against it.

And yes, he was his mother's son, as she had told him with a sigh as she left to go do the dishes after dinner. And he was proud of that. Without being so stubborn, he never would've gotten her to agree.

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

Subject GVSK-1

 _Subject was captured as one of two Pokémon alongside RL-2. Preliminary testing indicates low-moderate psionic strength for species benchmarks while unconscious. Traditional species augmentation upon awakening is potent, requiring extensive dampening. Breaking subject will take time, though no indications exist that it cannot happen._

* * *

 **Author's Note:** A day late thanks to FFN locking me out of my account, and we arrive in Kanto with Max picking up a new member for his team. One with a bit of a hidden agenda, at that.

Everyone needs a hobby, as they say. _  
_


	6. Dark Of Winter

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Dark of Winter**

Max hadn't been expecting much when Professor Oak had told them to come to the meeting room after lunch, about a week after they'd first arrived in Pallet Town. He'd done it before, just to ask how they were settling in and if everything was going well and stuff like that. Back then, he'd told them that asylum requests took time, and that it'd likely be close to the solstice that they would hear more. That was still over a week off, and so seeing the government official – Baker, wasn't it – in the meeting room was a big surprise.

"Sit down," the Professor told them as they entered, stopping them from speaking up. "I imagine you know what this is about," he added drily once the teenagers had obeyed.

"Indeed," the official said, putting a sheet of paper on the table as the Professor said down. "It's been a busy week for us. Your interview and prompt answering were able to convince most of the holdouts, Danny, Max, but then Hoenn started getting involved." The man looked… satisfied, somewhere. "I must admit to using their words to push hard in your favour, but it worked. You've been granted asylum."

Weight Max hadn't felt fell off his shoulders, but to his left, Professor Oak leant forward. "If you can tell us, Mister Baker, what happened?" he asked.

"I'm technically not allowed," the man protested half-heartedly, but a look of exasperation from the Professor made him shake his head. "Secure the room."

Max had xatu on him, and with a quick order, the Mystic Pokémon erected a shield that would block sound, both ways. It always felt a bit strange to be in it, like there was something stuck in his ears, but it wasn't really annoying. "What could they say to let you, well… Do stuff so fast?"

"In diplomacy, there are certain protocols that are followed. It's a rule of courtesy and all dreadfully boring to teenagers your age," Baker started his explanation. "For example, meetings have to be scheduled, and except if there's some emergency, you do that and wait for confirmation. Another one is that, once you've had your say, you wait some time before raising the issue again in person."

"I'm guessing that didn't happen."

Baker nodded at Oak's words. "We'd started to discuss the details of how we wanted to do this. It's common to do that, to make sure that the message you're trying to send is just right. Most were in favour of doing it quietly, to let it pass by in the holiday, so to say." He paused, seemingly to see if everyone was still following. "Then the new Hoenn ambassador himself appears in our building, delivering a list of, well… Crimes you had allegedly committed."

Max had to ask. "Such as?"

"Destruction of public property, more destruction of private property, and owning Pokémon you weren't allowed to yet own under new law were the main ones. Most of them yours, by the way, Mister Maple. You were a busy boy for someone who didn't even have a Pokémon."

Someone who didn't… "Hang on. Is that stuff that happened while I was travelling with Ash?"

"Indeed. We asked him about most of those charges, since the timescale matched, and as it turned out, you were defending yourself from criminals. Self defence is allowed, and even if it wasn't, there's no way a boy without any Pokémon to command could do that much."

The exaggerated wink told Mas that Baker knew that he hadn't been without Pokémon in all of them. "And Pokémon we weren't allowed to own?"

"Any and all Psychic, Ghost, or Dark-types caught before you gathered your sixth badge. A baltoy and a then-duskull, if I am not mistaken."

"Those restrictions aren't even two months old," Professor Oak said incredulously. "How did that ambassador even think of adding that?"

"The Hoenn government is considering eliminating _ex post facto_ protections," Baker said, sounding very sour all of a sudden. Max didn't understand what about, though, but he couldn't ask as the government official spoke up again. "One basic aspect of law is that it only starts working when it's signed. So something that was signed in October can't count for whenever it was that you got your sixth badge."

"August last year," Danny said, speaking up for the first time. "And even then, weren't there other requirements you could fulfil too?"

"Fifteen months of Trainer experience, which you passed this June." Left unsaid that June came before October on the calendar. "Now, seeing as the ambassador just added charges that wouldn't hold up in Kanto court and that he was quite rude about it, I might have said something about it looking a lot like you'd be thrown into prison on made-up charges anyway, and that might have caught the attention of the minister," Baker said, looking and sounding very satisfied with that.

"The Foreign Affairs minister is a former judge," Professor Oak started explaining instantly, saving Max from having to ask for the relevance. "She resided over one of the most important trials in recent Kanto history. The details aren't important, but to her, the idea of putting people into prison without proving guilt beyond doubt is anathema."

Max didn't know what anathema was, though the word rang a bell somewhere, like he'd heard it before. He could guess at its meaning, though. "I guess it helps to have her on our side?"

"It sure did. That was four days ago, but then the weekend happened, and we had to finalise some other things." Baker seemed apologetic, not that Max really cared. It was still way faster than expected. "But here we are. Any questions?"

The Professor was faster than Max on asking. "I assume you can tell us about these other things," he said as the government official drained his glass of water. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have hinted at them."

"I'm actually allowed to tell you this," Baker said with a smile. "One of them, anyway, and it's about your Trainer stipend, Messrs Birch and Maple."

Max nodded. His Hoenn account had been shut down – confiscated by the government – but it had been mostly empty anyway. He'd set up an automatic transfer from his Hoenn account to his Kalos account soon after getting one, and Danny had done the same. "We've got most of our money available. We hadn't sent the money back yet."

"We know," Baker replied, tilting his head meaningfully at the Professor. "Regardless, the dilemma on the table was if the Kanto-Johto government should take responsibility for your stipend, given that you are eligible and that you had lost the previous one through no real fault of your own." His smile turned a bit forced. "The good news is… You're getting something. The bad news is… It's not as much as you had from Hoenn." He held up a hand to forestall questions. "The main argument, and I should say I wasn't involved with this, is that you are both skilled Trainers who should be able to make your own way. On top of that, some people did argue that you did destroy that facility, and our stipend is a bit lower than Hoenn's to begin with."

"How much is it?" Professor Oak interjected, sounding a bit impatient.

"They let some number crunchers loose and it came out to around sixty percent of what you got from Hoenn. Last I heard, anyway," Baker added quickly. 'Nothing is final until you get the official letters and sign the paperwork."

It'd come when it'd come. "Can you send the letters here? Even if we leave, we can always call and get back or something. If that's okay with you, Professor," Max quickly asked, hoping he wasn't overstepping.

Instead, he got a warm smile from the grey-haired man. "I was about to suggest the same thing. It's simpler to leave it here, and unless you want to start out in Olivine or Cianwood, anywhere you go is well within range for your Pokémon to Teleport back."

Max and Danny had talked about that back in Kalos. "New Bark for us, Professor," Danny said. "We want to go to the Indigo League in February."

"I'll relay it." Baker shoved the sheet back where it came from, making to stand up before stopping, sitting back down. "Do you have any questions for me?" he asked, but none came as both Max and Danny shook their heads. "Then I'll take my leave."

Xatu took the barrier down without a word, and the man left, immediately striking left.

"There's something more going on here," Professor Oak said suddenly, drawing Max's attention. "He gave in far too easily. I was expecting to have to lean on him more to get him to tell you all of it."

"Why do you want us to know, Professor?" Danny wondered.

"Because nothing good is likely to come of keeping you in the dark." It was delivered bluntly, and in a voice Max had rarely heard the Professor use. The last time had been while discussing yveltal. "For some reason, the Hoenn government wants you, and from what I know, they will not like it that you got away, so to speak. I wouldn't put it past them to try and get you out on the road." He fixed both of them with a stern gaze. "When you leave, always have one of your Teleport-capable Pokémon on you. There are ways to block it, but those are limited. Use guard Pokémon at night, preferably several, and be prepared to fight at all hours. Even inside a Pokémon Center."

It wasn't like the Professor to be so bleak, and honestly, paranoid. Neither of them knew what to say, really.

Luckily, the Professor broke the heavy silence for them. "Now, is there anything you want to ask me? While we're here and all," he said, trying to sound normal.

It failed, Max thought, but since he didn't have anything to ask, he made to leave. Danny, on the other hand, stayed behind.

Probably was something to do with the Pokémon Professorship or something.

 **~~§~~§~~**

It had been a few days since they'd been told they they'd been granted asylum, leaving them free to journey through Kanto and Johto, but with a winter storm moving in and blanketing the land in snow, leaving had been the last thing on Max and Danny's mind. There was some work at Professor Oak's laboratory, but most of their time since then had been spent either inside where it was warm, or throwing snowballs with some of the Pallet Town youth, who were more than eager to gang up on the teenagers.

Most such fights ended with all of them red-cheeked from the cold, and Max knew both he and Danny had bruises from where they'd slipped or where an icy snowball had hit, but that was just part of the play. None of the parents had complained either, and so he rather thought it was okay for them to keep doing it as long as the snow held.

According to the weather forecast, that could actually be for a while. There was a second front coming in, and thaw wasn't expected to set in before that time. It'd push any date of leaving back: neither of them wanted to be travelling when everything was as frozen and white as it was, and unfortunately, their cheat system of using xatu or gardevoir to get elsewhere wouldn't exactly work either. They could reach Saffron for the Magnet Train, but with Yule coming up, tickets were extremely expensive until the new year came around.

They could afford it, but with their reduced income, both of them had agreed that they shouldn't spend that much money when they could just wait. The Silver Conference that they were aiming to join was in August, and without having to detour for Performances or Contests, there was plenty of time.

The door to the communal den-like area of the Professor's laboratory slid open, causing Max to look up from where he was idling, and in walked Ash's Mum, wearing a pink winter coat with the zip open. She looked around, finding him and making to join him.

Max put his reading away, the journal having been virtually forgotten after he had glanced outside at white surroundings. "Still cold outside?" he asked by way of greeting. It was early in the morning, and he hadn't actually been out yet. Danny was, though, using Mega aggron to do some Pokémon-aided landscaping, as the Professor had called it.

"Not as bad as it could be," Deila said brightly, sitting down and putting her gloves on the table. "Just crisp and clear winter. Won't be that for long, but this winter seems to be off to a bright and early start." She smiled widely. "Something you've been having fun with despite staying here when you don't want to."

Max didn't ask how Delia had figured out that they wanted to leave. The answer was probably 'Ash' anyway. "It's what it is. Not the first time we're stuck somewhere waiting for the weather to clear up."

"I imagine not, no." There was a lot of amusement in her tone, and it made him wonder how often Ash had called home to complain about just that. "If you're planning to stay through Yule, how about you and Danny spend it with me and Ash?"

Max blinked at the sudden invitation. Since leaving, and reasoning that he'd best not think about Hoenn too much except when he had to, he'd just… Ignored Yule. Which was bad, because he had less than a week and a half left to actually go buy presents and send them all over the globe. And Pallet Town wasn't exactly good for doing the shopping in the first place.

"Max?" Delia said, imposing on his presents-filled mind. "If you don't want to, I understand."

"Oh, no," Max said contritely, embarrassment simmering in his stomach. "I was just thinking I hadn't even begun to think about what to get others for Yule. "

The motherly smile was identical to the one his mother always gave him whenever – best to not go down that route. "You've had other things on your mind. I'm sure everyone will understand. And if you want to be alone on Yule..."

"Oh, no, no!" Max interjected, and he was sure there was some red on his cheeks now. "I'd love to – and I think Danny will too. Is anyone else coming?"

"Misty and Brock have a standing invitation, but they both have families of their own," Delia started cheerfully, and Max remembered just how big Brock's family was in the process. It really was no wonder how Brock had gotten that good at cooking simple yet tasty food. "Samuel and his family joined us last year, but they've got plans this year, so it's probably the five of us."

The fifth was Mimey, Max figured. "Well, it'll beat being on our own for sure. Is there anything you want us to do for it?"

"Just to help out with getting everything from the store to home," Delia replied. "And maybe one or two simple things in the kitchen. You'll hear that later, okay?"

"Once you've actually thought of what to make," Max guessed. Nobody planned their food that far in advance, even for Yule.

A clock struck ten, interrupting their conversation. After the clock let out Pokémon cries – growlithe barks for this hour – Delia spoke up again. "Oh, I've got ideas for that, but I need to know what you can do in the kitchen. And I need to think of Ash's favourite part of the meal, too."

"Dessert?"

"Exactly."

 **~~§~~§~~**

The sound of a heavy-set Pokémon landing jolted Danny out of his blind staring, suddenly finding that it had grown quite dark outside of the little circle near him, where dusclops had been continually feeding a small fire with Will-O-Wisp and gathered logs. They, plus a few floating balls of flame in Danny's back, had kept him quite warm even if it was below freezing outside.

Crunching footsteps followed, and Danny turned around to see a well-bundled up person walk in his direction. A moment later, he recognised the person. "Professor Oak?!"

"Yes, my boy," the Professor replied genially as the distance was closed, Danny getting up and noticing again that he was taller. "I'm sorry to interrupt your thinking, but castform just told us there was some nasty weather coming."

The weathered dragonite that had landed stepped up, spraying the campfire with a Water Gun, quenching the flames with hiss and sudden smell. "Tha… How'd you know I was thinking?"

"When you reach my age, you'll have learned a thing or two." The Professor gestured in the direction of the ranch, which stood out as a small bit of light in the distance. "Let's go before the weather catches us."

They moved slowly, snow and ice hindering their movement. Dragonite was there to catch either of them from falling over, reacting so fast Danny barely had time to realise he had lost his balance. "Professor, why are we walking? Can't dragonite just take us back?"

"He could, but then we wouldn't be able to talk in peace." The older man slowed down, and Danny felt black eyes study him. "What made you want to sit in this cold and think where nobody was around to interrupt you?"

Danny remained silent, unsure if he wanted to air his stupid childish thoughts.

"It wouldn't have something to do with the invitation Delia made, now would it?"

"It..." Danny started weakly, before realising it and shaking his head. "It made me realise that I wouldn't be home for Yule, and then..."

A gloved hand on his shoulder stopped his mouth and his legs. "You, being a teenager, decided it was a good time to sit around and sulk," Professor Oak finished for Danny.

"Got it in one," Danny said. "It… Is it wrong of me that I didn't think about it like that before today?"

"Thought about what like what?"

Danny couldn't read the Professor's face; not in the night, but somewhere, he had a feeling the Professor knew what was meant. "I didn't _r_ _eally_ realise that I couldn't go back to Hoenn. That we're exiled. That we won't see our family for months, maybe years." And all because of one person. "It's stupid, I know it is, but… Part of me wishes that Ash never took us there."

"Hindsight is perfect, as they say," the scientist replied softly. "It's not stupid to regret what led you somewhere, and far more mature Trainers than you have raged against the heavens for their lot in life. I truly shudder to think how my grandson would've reacted if he had been in your shoes. As for your other question…" A short pause fell, and Danny tried to peer into the darkness, but he saw nothing important. "Some psychologists will vehemently disagree with me, but I think there are very few wrong ways to deal with trauma. Not wanting to think about it is a very human reaction. As long as you find an outlet before it boils over, no harm done in my book."

"Does this count?"

"Yes," Professor Oak agreed emphatically. "If talking didn't help, why would there be so many therapists around?"

The teenager wasn't sure what to say about that. He'd never really noticed there were a lot of them, not that he'd gone looking for them. "I guess..." Danny said, somewhat distracted and nearly paying for it as a patch of ice made him lose his grip. The strong body of a dragonite behind him stopped worse. "And, I guess… Thank you for listening."

"Oh, nonsense," the Professor said, and Danny saw the outline of the older man make a throw-away gesture. "It is the least I can do. You've been a great help in the past weeks, and you've got all the makings of a fine scientist in a few years."

The darkness hid Danny's blush, bringing some needed warmth into his face. "It's been fun," he said when he was certain he wouldn't have his voice break or squeak or something. "I thought it'd be harder to understand. Uncle always complained about how difficult it can be."

"Your Uncle also has to find Pokémon habitats and make sure to not disturb them so his observation are valid," Professor Oak explained. "My research varies a bit, and, well, it is a topic you are familiar with."

Danny nodded. "I didn't know there were so many Mega Stones in Kanto already. I thought it was really rare, and that they weren't found here?"

"It is rare, but apparently, they are here as well. In small numbers, mind you. I believe there are three more around in Kanto and Johto, and you know two of the Trainers holding those. Regardless, all of them are in the hands of high-level Trainers.

"How high?" Danny wondered, thinking back. He knew he'd seen two Kanto Gym Leaders: Sabrina with her signature alakazam and Lt. Surge with an ampharos. They'd come over together a few days before. He hadn't recognised any of the others.

"Three Gym Leaders, two Frontier Brains, and two independent Master-tier Trainers," the Professor revealed. "Gave me a bit of trouble when I realised Max knew a few of them. Couldn't have familiarity influence the experiments. Same reason the others didn't tell you who they were either."

A memory popped up, just when Danny had thought he'd buried it. "Guess they had fun seeing me making a fool of myself with that medicham," he said, unable to keep the whine out. "Max wouldn't have done that."

The laboratory wasn't more than fifty feet away by now, but the Professor stopped Danny with an arm. The limited light from the building revealed a frown. "Why do you continuously compare yourself to him, Danny? I can't imagine it's jealousy, seeing how you two get along."

"It just comes naturally after travelling with him for so long," Danny replied easily, but the look on the older man's face caused something uncomfortable to gather in his stomach. "Professor?"

"I misspoke slightly. It is not the constant comparing, but the fact that you always seem to put yourself second-best." A hand grasped his shoulder. "It is unhealthy, Danny. Tell yourself something over and over and you might believe it to be true, even if it isn't."

"What isn't?"

The Professor sighed deeply. "That you're inferior to your friend." Danny tensed up, and he felt Oak's hand react. "You are not."

"But Max is smarter," Danny started. "And he's a better Trainer, and he's got a lot more on his plate. I'm pretty sure he feels guilty about dragging me into..."

"This whole mess?"

That was good enough of a summary for Danny, and he nodded. "Friends help friends, and he needs my help more."

"But isn't it better if you weren't held back by something you're telling yourself?" Sharp eyes fixed their gaze on Danny, he saw and felt. "From what I've observed, the difference in your intelligence and capability as a Trainer is barely noticeable, and where it is, it is irrelevant. Whether you need to ask one or two minor questions to understand a concept that is far beyond the average Trainer's understanding is truly splitting hairs, Danny, and don't believe I haven't kept an eye on the spars you've been having around my ranch. Both of you are ahead of my grandson and his rival when they were as old as you are now." The Professor's hand rose just slightly, enough to indicate the necklace hidden underneath several layers of clothing. "Max does have more on his plate, but I disagree with your idea of putting him first."

Danny bit back a remark he knew was pretty acidic. No matter how much the words hurt to hear, he couldn't do that to the man who'd given them a place to stay and learn for the past two weeks or so. "What do you mean, Professor?"

"Remember what they always say in planes about the oxygen masks?"

That was a… non-sequitur? Was that what Dad had called it? Danny cast his mind back to the instructions they'd been given the last time he flew. "That they'll fall from the ceiling?"

"That you should put your own mask on first before helping anyone else who can't or is having problems," the Professor told Danny kindly. "In this case: help yourself first. You'll be able to help Max better that way. And I know, it won't be easy," he added before Danny could say anything. "But improving yourself never is."

"And if I don't?" Danny asked, truly curious.

"At best, you'll never reach your potential," the Professor said. "At worst, and let me say that I don't believe Max can do this as he is, you'll be thrown to the side once you're not useful any longer. Like a chewed-up Pokémon toy. And I'm really not saying Max would," came a repeat. "But people change when they grow up. It's not always for the better."

Paul popped into Danny's head as the Professor said that; the memory of the boy he'd once thought of as a sort-of friend souring his mood a bit. "I don't suppose you have tips for me?"

He wasn't expecting much, which made the nod all the more surprising. "You trust your Pokémon to act independently in battle. It's as much a partnership as it is a Trainer and a Pokémon: you're a team, as equal as possible. Doing something along those lines is what I would try to do if I were you."

"I don't suppose you have specific examples?"

The Professor let out a short laugh. "If I did, would it be the right thing for me to tell you? To live your life is to learn lesson after lesson, Danny, and it's far better to discover yourself than be told something." The older man turned towards his laboratory. "Now, I don't know about you, but I'm ready to warm up. Shall we go inside?"

Danny acquiesced, and he quickly found froslass floating nearby, enjoying the cold weather as she kept an eye on him from afar. One red beam later, and he made his way inside to where it was warm.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Kanto Route 1 was _gorgeous,_ almost blindingly so. The wintry sun reflected off freshly fallen snow in an almost magical way, and with next to no humans or Pokémon around, Serena was free to enjoy the small route between Viridian City and Pallet Town. The air was clean, not too cold even if it was below freezing, and it was just a perfect bit of land.

She wished she could share it with her Pokémon, but none of them would like it as much as she did. Braixen didn't care for ice, as a Fire-type; zorua didn't like anything getting in his fur; altaria and cherrim detested the cold. Ducklett might like it, but she couldn't walk that fast yet, having hatched only recently. Serena did have to make sure that she actually got to Pallet before sundown. It was only eight miles or so, something she could walk easily, but the snow made it a bit harder, and worse on the Water-type.

Checking her newly bought ruby red Pokénav, she saw that it was nearing three, and that she was about a mile and a half away from Pallet. She'd made good time since noon, then, and it was a pace she felt she could easily keep up while carrying the increased load now that she was out on her own. Not that she'd need all of those things yet: she certainly planned on being in Pokémon Centers while the weather was cold, but you had to be prepared.

Spending all that time with Danny and Max had taught Serena that much.

The thought of the two boys made her smile, and she couldn't wait to see them again.

Sara had laughed at her and asked more than once if she loved one of them, but Serena was pretty certain that wasn't it. It was just that they'd spent so long together, and they'd been through so much together… And then both of them had gone on the run… Was it really that strange that she wanted her friends to be okay?

She loved Sara dearly, but it had felt like there was a bit of a gap between them now, and not because they were only talking occasionally now.

The rest of the journey was pretty boring. The sun did fall lower in the sky, which made the reflection on the snow all the worse, but Serena had come prepared with sunglasses for a reason, and it wasn't long before she had her first look at Pallet Town.

It looked like a perfect rural town, with snow-filled roofs, wide streets, white gardens, and not too far away from where she was standing on the nearby cliff, some snowball face-off. That looked to be on the main road into the town, and Serena soon made her way down the winding path that led around and down. It was a gentle walk, and she noticed a sign telling her she'd entered Pallet Town, as well as a mr. mime throwing snow out of a garden in the background.

The sound of playing children shrieking as they caught a face full of snow reached her ears before she could see them, but as she moved closer, she heard one of the children – a girl, Serena thought – yell for an attack, and a cacophony of children's voices joined her, probably rushing forward to storm whoever was on the other side.

Wait. She knew that voice. It was kind of drowned out between the children laughing, but there was an indignant teenager protesting in there. And that teenage boy sounded very familiar to Serena's ears.

As quick as she could, she rushed towards the sound, finding that she only had to turn one corner to see a heap of children burying someone in snow. And to the side, trying to not incite the wrath of the children, was a very familiar teenager.

One of the two girls spotted her before anyone else did, and as if the Pallet Town children shared minds, they all moved off of their target, revealing a very white Danny, recognisable only by his winter coat. While he got up, shaking all the snow off, Max noticed her. "Serena!"

Danny interrupted his cleaning to look at her, and she gave him a little wave as she started moving towards them, the five children backing off a bit. "Hey there!" Serena returned, and it felt _good_ to see them in person again. The moment she could, she hugged Max; something he returned with gusto, doing the same with Danny when he got up. "So this is how you spend your days? Being beaten by a bunch of children?"

"Devious bunch of ba— kids they are," Max said, looking past her to see if the children weren't trying anything. He'd be like that. "What are you doing here? I thought you wouldn't come to Kanto until the new year?"

Serena nodded, unable to keep the smile off her face. "That was the plan, but then I got invited to spend Yule in Kanto about a week ago. Mum's over in Viridian, we arrived the day before yesterday."

"Who invited you?" Danny asked.

"I did," came the voice of Mrs. Ketchum behind them all, startling Serena and at least Danny too. "Welcome to Pallet Town, Serena. Was the trip from Viridian okay?"

"Route 1 is _beautiful_ in the snow," Serena said honestly as the woman slotted into their little group. She had a nice pink coat that Serena liked, but couldn't really get away with. She liked reds more. "Saw maybe three Pokémon, no humans. Easy trip, even with my pack."

Whatever Mrs. Ketchum wanted to say was stopped by Max suddenly snapping his fingers. "Oh, oh!" he exclaimed, doing a little dance in the snow.. "That's why you said it'd be five of us, right? You'd already invited Serena."

Serena had no idea what he was talking about, but the adult did. "Exactly. You were expecting someone else, weren't you?" Max nodded. "He's at home now. The hot cocoa should be ready too. Shall we go there to warm up a bit? I think Danny needs that after the snow bath he got."

That sounded like a good plan, and the boys agreed, Danny grumbling good-naturedly about children being way too fast in the snow.

The Ketchum home was barely a street and a half away, and once there, Serena saw a familiar Pokémon: the same mr. mime that had been throwing snow around earlier. "I saw… him?" she guessed as the Pokémon took care of her pack with some careful telekinesis, "a couple of minutes ago. Getting snow out of a garden."

"He's a dear. Makes it easy for me," Mrs. Ketchum said, smiling as the Psychic-type led them to a comfortable homey room. "Welcome to my home, Serena. Ash isn't here yet, but he'll arrive tomorrow."

"If he doesn't get lost or caught up in training," Max quipped.

"That is why he's not here yet."

 **~~§~~§~~**

Ash was legitimately full to the point of bursting. He wasn't sure how that had happened, after a light soup and a variety of salads and seafood, but his stomach said otherwise. "Man, I'm stuffed," he told the others. "You outdid yourself, Mum."

The three teenagers seated at the other side of the table all agreed. "It was great, M… Delia," the girl on the left said, still not used to calling Ash's Mum by her name. "Never had oysters this good, even in Kalos."

"High praise," his mother told them, starting to collect plates from around the table and giving Mimey a warning look. The mr. mime normally did that, but he had the day off on Yule, instead sitting at a second smaller table and mirroring the main dinner with Pokémon. Pikachu, braixen, clefairy, and helioptile were the other four, though Ash knew Max and Danny had both wanted to send other Pokémon out.

Sceptile, swampert, and aggron were just too big, sending out froslass inside was asking for trouble, baltoy didn't really eat all that much and manectric didn't have hands to eat with. Max had reached clefairy pretty soon afterwards, though Danny… The exaggerated listing of his Pokémon and why they wouldn't work still amused Ash.

It hadn't stopped them from putting the Ice-type Pokémon and a few others that were well-equipped to deal with the temperatures just below freezing outside with some food as well.

"I think we'll wait with dessert," Mum declared as she came back to the others still sitting at the table. "Yule logs are enjoyed best if they don't put you in a food coma."

Max disagreed with a roll of his eyes, but he didn't say anything, instead asking for and getting permission to leave the table for now. He walked over to the sofa, curling up on one side with a book on Psychic-types that he had gotten from one of the others from Hoenn. Ash'd forgotten the name.

Someone tapped him on his shoulder, and he looked left to find Danny standing there. "Going to check on the Pokémon. You coming?" he asked Ash.

Two minutes later, they were outside in the mostly snow-free garden. Mimey had removed most of it, but he had left a small amount for seasonal cheer, or so Mum had claimed. It was a pretty sight, even in the limited light that the lamp near the backdoor and the unnatural fire provided. Danny's dusclops was keeping it going, somehow draining it of most heat in the process and making it so that froslass and glalie could be near it without being uncomfortable. Swinub and absol were eating a bit further away, and Ash's Pokémon started walking up to them when she noticed them looking. "Having a good time out here?" Ash asked.

The bark was happy enough for sure, and after a quick rub on her flank, the Dark-type went back to eating, content with the attention she'd gotten. She was like that: wanting sporadic affection and then nothing for days on end.

"Did you see how Max reacted to absol?"

He had. For some weird reason, Max had looked a bit… awkward when Ash had sent absol out earlier. "Yeah. Don't think he had that last year. What gives?"

The lanky teenager – Ash was only an inch taller, if that – shrugged. "He's got that with drapion too. Sensed him underground even if he doesn't realise it was that."

"Yveltal?" Ash guessed. Powerful Legendaries had a way of leaving their mark on those nearby. He should know.

"Thought so, but it's not just Dark-types. Dusclops, come here for a moment," Danny said, and his Ghost-type did just that. "What does dusclops feel like to you?"

That was a really strange request, but Ash still put his hand on the Ghost-type's back. There was an empty chill underneath his fingers, like with most powerful Ghost-types that didn't have something else that changed things around. "Cold and empty," he reported back. "Like a Night Shade."

"Yeah. That's what I feel too. Didn't ask Max, but I think he feels something stronger." The Ghost, not needed any longer, went to tend the fire again, bowing to Danny as she did so. "He only started noticing when we were in Hoenn last month."

"Ghosts are pretty close to death, and yveltal is the Legendary of Death. Could be the result from that." Ash paused for a second. "Isn't there a legend about dusknoir being a spirit world guide?"

"You were the one who went to Sinnoh, not me. They do evolve with a Reaper Cloth, so maybe?" Danny shrugged, and Ash felt the same way. "He doesn't really have it with doublade or froslass, and we've not been that close to other powerful Ghost-types."

"You could ask Professor Oak for setting that up. I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

Danny smiled, but he shook his head as well. "Don't think I want to add more on Max's plate right now. He doesn't need another thing hanging over him. It's only powerful Pokémon too: someone's houndoom had pups and he didn't have any problems with the mother or the children."

The argument made sense to Ash, though he wasn't sure if Danny was right in keeping it to himself. He was as much a victim as Max had been, and from what Gary had said in occasional calls, the older of the two was also taking it harder in the first place. Or was worse at hiding it, but Ash didn't agree with Gary on that after what he'd seen in the last thirty hours. "Just take care of yourself."

That got him a suspicious look. "You're not the first to say that."

"Can't help it if it's the truth."

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _Two members of the Team Rocket criminal gang were sentenced to prison today for attempted Pokémon theft. The duo, not identified, were caught last month on Pummelo Island after anonymous Trainers deposited them with the police._ "For their own safety, these Trainers have asked to not be identified," _the Pummelo Officer Jenny told the_ Orange Islands Courier _in a statement. "As ever, we are grateful for anyone's help in taking care of these criminals."_

* * *

 **Author's Note:** A day late thanks to some early spring illness flooring me, we arrive in the dark of winter, and appropriately angsty for the time of year. It should be better from here for a while, though I won't promise a complete absence.

Next chapter, we leave for Johto.


	7. Yet Another Journey

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Yet Another Journey**

Daylight was basically non-existent by the time Max and Danny arrived in New Bark Town, thanks to a patch of frozen forest around where the Pokénav said the Kanto-Johto border was. It wasn't insurmountable to cross, but it was slippery, and Max suspected some Ice-type Pokémon had made a habitat there during the recent weather.

Still, they'd left Pallet Town only that morning, and it was with that in mind that both of them headed over to Professor Elm's laboratory for a quick greeting and a package delivery. Professor Oak had asked them to take a peculiar box over, and after everything that he had done for both of them, neither Max nor Danny really felt like they could say no.

Not that they would've in the first place. It wasn't even out of the way: the New Bark Town Center was by far the easiest one to reach in one day's worth of walking. With neither of them really wanting to test their new outdoors gear just yet, it made sense to go there. All this did was to add an extra stop in the town itself.

The Professor came to the front door himself. Unlike the Pallet Town and Littleroot Laboratories, Professor Elm's was pretty small, only housing a few Pokémon, with most of them in pokéball storage. There were also only a few assistants, and after dark on a holiday Sunday? Elm was probably the only one there. "I wasn't expecting you today," the balding Professor said as he opened the door. "When Professor Oak said that you had left this morning, I was expecting you tomorrow, maybe a day after." He stepped aside, allowing them in. "You didn't walk close to thirty miles in one day, did you?"

It was a lot warmer inside, and Max immediately opened his coat so he didn't overheat. "We cheated," he said. "I've been to the Battle Tower before and I've got a xatu."

"That would do it," Elm said with a smile as they walked through the small laboratory. It felt quite homely, with a lot of pictures on the walls. Most of them were of Trainers and their Pokémon, though there were a few of Elm and assistants – Max assumed – as well. "And may I be the first to welcome you to Johto? I think we're all hoping your stay here is going to be fairly uneventful."

Max doubted that was going to be the case, but he fully planned on being the one creating the noise by winning tournaments.

"Why did Professor Oak have us bring this? You can send items over the Pokémon Transfer Network, right?" Danny asked as he got the small box out of his pack. The base wasn't much bigger than Max's hand, and it was about half a hand high.

"You've heard of porygon, I assume," Elm started as he took the box and placed it on a counter. "Computer-based Pokémon with only limited ways of manifesting themselves in the physical world." The Johtoan waited to see if they followed. "More advanced systems exist digitally, but not physically. One of Professor Oak's acquaintances theorised it should be possible to upgrade them in the real world; make them faster, more adept at doing several things at once." He lifted the box up. "This is a device that will install the upgrade onto a system. Oak's already tested it, as has the inventor, and I'm going to test if it works with older generations of porygon as well."

Then why… "A physical device to upgrade it?"

"Prototype. If it works, it'll all be digital. I think," Elm said, shrugging, which looked weird on someone of his importance. "But if it doesn't, and it somehow gets onto the internet… That'd be pretty bad."

Max wasn't sure if he understood it fully, but caution sounded right. "I guess you won't be able to register us, then?"

That got a laugh. "Afraid not. I took my computer off the network or a few days – don't worry, all the Trainers know," he added. "The Pokémon Center should be fine, and this time of year, it's not going to be full. I assume you know where it is?"

"A mile south of here, right?"

"More south-west, but that's splitting hairs," Elm replied. "Danny, Max, thank you for delivering this to me so quickly."

It was a bit abrupt, but Max couldn't blame the likeable Professor. If it was an upgrade to the porygon system, then that was a huge development in some fields.

The Pokémon Center was easily found, and as Elm had said, it was even emptier than he'd been expecting, Then again, their last experiences with Pokémon Centers – on busy holiday islands and in the largest city he'd ever been to – weren't standard by any stretch. For a bit of an out of the way town at the end of the year, only five others sounded about right. They were offered one person rooms because they were free anyway, but they declined.

It wasn't just Professor Oak's warning from two weeks prior that made them opt to do that, it was also that sleeping alone in a room had felt weird. Several of Max's smaller Pokémon had spent the night in his room in the week he'd been home, and Danny had told him that he'd done the same. Serena had done that as well, she'd told them over Yule.

"Wait, aren't you..." he heard as he stepped back out after depositing all of his stuff and heading out to the cafeteria to order some dinner for the both of them. "You are, aren't you..."

Max turned around to look at the speaker: a boy who was a bit taller than he was, and shorter than Danny, but older than both of them if the hair and acne on his face were any indication. "Yes?" he asked, hoping that this wasn't going to be about what he did in Kalos.

"You're Max Maple, aren't you? From Hoenn. You got accused of destroying something."

Perhaps Kalos was the better reason to be recognised. "Yeah. I am."

No reply came as the teenager hurried away. Max wanted to call after him, but Danny's hand on his shoulder stopped that, and he turned around. "You scaring people just with looks now?"

Max suddenly realised he was glaring – had been since replying for the last time – and he shook his head, trying to fix his expression. "You heard what he said?"

"I can guess. There aren't a lot of things that get y… No wait, that's wrong," Danny corrected himself, and there was definite amusement in his voice. "There are a lot of things that get you angry, but only a few that others would talk about."

Max sighed deeply, maybe exaggerating a bit. "However did you guess that," he drawled.

"Been your best friend for years. Ought to count for something."

 **~~§~~§~~**

There wouldn't be any fireworks this year, but that didn't stop Max and Danny from staying up all night on New Year's Eve. They had the Pokémon Center to themselves: only Nurse Joy and her Pokémon making sure they could actually stay there. Everyone else had left for Cherrygrove, about eight miles south beyond a patch of forest. Neither of them particularly cared for the fireworks show, and after what had happened in New Bark Town, Danny had suggested that they skip town, literally.

Ash had called them crazy for liking this, but having nobody around was great after spending the past month around people constantly, always with something to do. Both of them had liked working for and with Professor Oak, and Max had enjoyed the fights in the snow with the local children, sure. It had kept them occupied, without sinking too much into thinking about what was happening in Hoenn, but it was also constantly busy and a bit draining, if Max were honest.

The last night of the year was a good one to look back, though, and with all the important bits of Kalos already discussed the day before they left Pallet Town… There was only one real thing left to reflect on, and it wasn't a happy topic.

Attacks were still going on, at a lower rate than before. The government was claiming this was due to the new regulations, but that explanation sucked. Even if Max hadn't known that there was foul play, it wouldn't have made much sense. Pokémon weren't being taken away from Trainers who hadn't qualified just yet: there was a transition period of a few months. It just was quieter.

Honestly, he thought it was more likely that the ones behind it all were throwing Hoenn a bone by not attacking everywhere over the holidays. He knew better than nearly everyone that villainous organisations were human too.

Footsteps announced Danny's presence, and when Max looked up, he saw that Danny was wearing the new pyjamas that Delia had given him for Yule. Striped blue and black, and according to the wearer, really comfortable. It was, however, not nearly midnight yet. The clock in the corner said there were about twenty-five minutes remaining. "I thought you wanted to stay up?"

"I do," Danny said as he sat down, grabbing a handful of peanuts from the bowl on the table. "But why wear day clothing when we're the only ones here? It's late enough anyway to wear them." He scarfed down the snack. "You didn't think too dark stuff while I was in the shower, right?"

"Can you blame me if I did?"

"Nah," Danny shot back casually. "But to keep you from sulking too much, I want to be there for it. Nuh-uh," he said as he twisted out of the way of Max's attempted punch to the arm. "It's about both of us, so we get to talk about it with the two of us."

A bit of annoyance flared, but it made sense. "Just thinking about Hoenn. How it's supposed to be safer now thanks to those new regulations." He scoffed, seeing Danny shake his head. "It doesn't work like that."

"I can already hear Gary say something about how stupid people are," Danny replied softly, and Max took a moment to imagine just that. "It's something he'd totally say. He knows his stuff, but he is so arrogant about it."

Max agreed, but he hadn't minded that attitude as much as Danny apparently did. "Professor Oak tries to puncture the ego, he told me once. It doesn't always work."

"You'd think Gary would be immune to that by now." A shake, and a new round of snacking. "Speaking of stupid, did you see what your sister said?"

Max could imagine what May was saying. He knew how she thought rather too well. "Something like..." He coughed once. "Please come home Max, it's all just a big misunderstanding."

Damn, he was still really good at that high pitched voice. Stupid hormones. At least Danny smiled at the impression, before looking as annoyed as Max had ever seen him outside of being angry for real. "Close enough. Said something about how she hoped we weren't being used by others."

Dark laughter bubbled up, escaping in a harsh bark. "Yeah, she'd know all about that," Max said before sipping from his juice. "Should've known she'd be the one ratting us out. The one time I don't keep a secret because she made me angry."

"Said it before, will say it again, Max. It wasn't your fault. She was way out of line with that. Seriously," Danny said. "Did she get dropped on her head as a child? You don't tell people 'oh, this Pokémon you wanted might be dead' just like that. And she should've known better about Ash. Come on, they travelled together for twenty months. How can you _not_ know what people are like by that time?" A short pause. "Why are you smirking?"

"Isn't it the other way around usually?" Max said, trying to sound over-the-top innocent. "Didn't know you could even rant like that."

"I had a good teacher."

Max had to hand that one to him. "Touché," he said before making a grab for more peanuts, and finding the bottom of the bowl. "Should we get more or..."

"Nah," the other teenager replied nonchalantly. "Dunno about you, but I'll probably go to bed soon after midnight. Just want to see the new year." He looked around for a moment. "You want to do the same thing we did last year? I'm sure Nurse Joy wouldn't mind."

The answer to that was three taps on Max's pokéballs, and sceptile, manectric, and xatu came out, joined by diggersby, klefki, and helioptile a moment later. "All Kalos Pokémon. Are you trying to say something here?"

That made Danny chuckle. "No. The other three are swampert, aggron, and drapion. The tables are stuck to the floor, y'know."

Max still thought there was room for at least one of them, but he let it go, mostly because manectric decided to hop on the chair beside him and start asking for pets after recognising that there was no danger. She'd started doing more of that recently, and Max didn't mind at all. It was soothing and never failed to calm him down. In fact…

In fact all of his Pokémon had been acting a bit differently. Sceptile was just a bit less stoic, clefairy had been even more mothering than before, vulpix occasionally spent the night at the bottom of his bed even after he and Danny had started sleeping in the same room again, ninjask had been oddly eager to fly through cold weather a few times, zipping through the sky overhead. Scouting. "You're trying to help me, aren't you?"

The question was addressed at sceptile, and the Grass-type's answer was a deeply satisfied smirk. "Tile, sce?" he asked in return, smug as anything.

That was probably a question if it was working, or something similar, and with a smile, Max had to concede that it was. "Did he put you up to it?" he continued, jabbing a thumb in Danny's direction.

"Tu."

The monosyllabic answer from the Psychic-type was somehow saturated with amused outrage that Max thought such a thing possible, and one look at Danny's face revealed that he, too, got that message. It caused a bubble of full laughter to erupt, and Danny's indignant shout made that even worse.

He ran out of breath eventually. "Oh, man," Max said as he tried to get air back into his lungs. "I needed that."

"Glad to have helped in some way," Danny added drily, but there was no rancour to it. "It makes a lot of sense, actually. Are you lot in on this as well?" A one-eared salute was the answer. "I should've known."

"You're the best family I could've asked for," Max blurted out. He wasn't sure where the thought had come from, but it felt _right._ "That includes you, Danny." As did that jab.

The fake outrage didn't appear. "Don't you miss them?"

Any and all cheer was dispelled, something heavy settling over them. "Every day," Max told Danny as softly as the question had been. "Mum and Dad, Aunt Louise, Uncle Philip, Evan… I hope they're not in trouble because of us running away. It's all I can do." And how he wished that it was different. "But I know they can't contact us, or we them. It's too dangerous, could lead to trouble… Stuff like that. I don't like it, but… It's what it is."

He didn't press further, and Danny didn't offer anything, but Max had a pretty good idea of where his best friend's thoughts were going. After spending the better part of twenty-two months travelling, how could he not?

 **~~§~~§~~**

Ash had told them about the forest on the direct route between Cherrygrove and Violet City, not too far from Florando. He'd also told them about the Ghost-type Pokémon that called it home and their penchant for illusions. There'd been an interesting story there, but unlike Ash, Brock, and Misty way back then, they had one Pokémon capable of using Foresight to figure out what was real and what was not. "Time to keep us safe, dusclops," Danny said as they passed a sign that warned them of illusions ahead.

The Ghost-type nodded, walking alongside them. It made everything a bit slower, but the forest wasn't that big in the first place. By nightfall, they would be inside the next Pokémon Center, and if they somehow weren't, xatu could always Teleport them back.

"Aren't dusclops illusion users as well?" Max asked as they came across the first obstacle in the dark forest. A flash of red light revealed that the fallen tree was real, and Danny tested the wood to see if it wasn't rotten. It held his weight comfortably, and they climbed over it. "Never really thought about it much, but they do learn Will-O-Wisp."

The Ghost-type gave a reply after phasing through the tree, followed by a quick Will-O-Wisp that was kind of… "Looks like Will-O-Wisp is enough," Danny said as he shook his head violently, getting rid of a fuzzy feeling that hadn't been there moments ago. "Never seen you use it like that in battle, though."

"Focusing ruins it," Max said, and Danny turned towards him. "I figured dusclops was going to do it, so I just… Thought of other stuff." He shrugged. "Or maybe that's just Pokémon attacks not working as well on me."

Danny remembered that from last April Fools' Day, when Max had woken up earlier than he had expected his friend to after gulpin had used Yawn. It had still been long enough for the prank to work. "Should totally have you test more attacks now, just to find out if that's true."

A sharp flash blinded him, white at first, then red bleeding in. Danny saw a glimpse of some beach before Foresight chased it away. "A beach? It's two days into January!" Max said, throwing up his arms. "That's just insulting to think we'd fall for that."

An eerie feeling crept up Danny's back, and he resisted the urge to groan. "I think they're taking it as a challenge," he informed Max.

"Let them. It's a good challenge." He was looking forward to it too, Danny thought, and the older teenager didn't understand that. "If this was a dangerous place, Agatha would have come down on it years ago. Ghost-types were her area of expertise after all."

The logic was sound enough, Danny accepted, but he still didn't like it, and they continued in silence.

Nothing happened for a while, apart from dusclops occasionally checking to see if they weren't stuck in some insidious and hard to spot illusion, which allowed Danny to start thinking about the Will-O-Wisp trick he'd just seen dusclops use. "It's easy to ignore if you focus, right?"

Max got what Danny was referring to immediately. "Yeah. You can test that yourself when we're in a Center."

He would, just to see if it wasn't something Max had picked up elsewhere. "So it's not good in single battles for me because of my style, right?" A quick nod confirmed that Max was following. "But what if we do it in double battles? Like, xatu using Confusion and then Will-O-Wisp to hit them while they're recovering from that?"

"What did the Will-O-Wisp do?" Max asked. "I know the stories about little lights leading people off and how they're mesmerised by it, but what did it actually feel like? Up here," he added, tapping his temple before stopping abruptly, looking at a tree. "That's a beedrill nest. Let's not go there."

They struck left, heading a bit westerly. "It made me slower. Mentally," Danny said as another wave of red light pulsed out. "Like I was lazy and didn't really want to think too hard." There was something that it had reminded him of, but he wasn't certain what.

"Could be useful," Max agreed, stepping around a long-dead tree base. "If it slows them down long enough to be hit with something powerful, it's worth it."

"You said something about Future Sight while at Professor Oak's, I think. That could work. Do what Olympia did." Danny remembered something. "I think gardevoir can learn it as well. Meowstic can too, of course." Dusclops took that moment to speak up, the message clear. "And you too?"

The emphatic nod, as best the Ghost-type could give, was clear. "Guess we've got a lot of training planned out. Need to find a way to teach it to one Pokémon first, though," Max said, soon sinking into what Danny recognised as his friend trying to remember something. It made him keep an eye at what was ahead to make sure Max didn't fall face-first into something, but the path was fairly clear, and devoid of any illusions to boot. "Oh, I'm an idiot. Ash's absol knows it. We could ask them next month."

That sounded like the easiest way to learn it. They would be in the same location for about two weeks after all. "Gives you time to practice with gardevoir too." He shook his head, a half-snort escaping him. "Never thought I'd see too much power be a real problem."

"It's new, I think. Something to do with the evolution." Max shrugged, conveying everything he needed to. "Pokémon are strange, in all the best ways. And – and that's a beedrill nest again."

The shorter teenager made to turn left, but Danny grabbed him by the back of his pack, realising something. A sharp shiver snaked up his back. "Hang on. It's January, and we just had weeks of snow. When did the beedrill find time to nest?"

"I don't know, but I know what I see and—" Foresight washed over him and the area in front of the both of them. "Sneaky _bastards_."

The forest suddenly felt amused, as if all the Ghost-types were laughing at them. One or two of them were probably nearby enough to do that anyway, though they kept themselves well-hidden from dusclops and the Foresight apparently. "The last nest was probably fake as well. Should probably go a bit more north to adjust."

They did so, and apart from one more illusion as they were just about to exit – a pit that dusclops dispelled after hearing both of them yell in surprise from the sudden falling sensation even though they never moved – the trek was calm, and mostly filled with silence.

And no real or fake beedrill nests.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Danny had a problem. Kind of. After arriving in Florando the night before, he had mentioned that they needed to practice strategies to deal with Falkner's Flying-types as well, and so they'd decided to stay there for a few days to practice before doing the two day walk to Violet City.

He wasn't sure how he hadn't realised most of his more powerful Pokémon were actually bad at dealing with Flying Pokémon in a Gym setting. In Leagues, there were all sorts of rules to make sure an airborne Pokémon couldn't just stay out of range indefinitely, but that was also the challenge of any Flying-type Gym Leader. At the level they were at now, you had to have something to make them fight instead of fly, and over half of his Pokémon were pants at that.

Aggron had nothing except to throw the terrain at the opponent, and swampert, gulpin, dusclops, drapion, diggersby, and ferroseed all didn't have much to force the issue. Some things, sure, but either it was slow or they were bad at dealing with dive bomb runs like Max's ninjask could do.

"I think I might have relied too much on froslass for my anti-Flying strategies," Danny admitted as they found themselves at an arena a stone's throw away from the Center. Max was carrying a small pot filled with something Danny hadn't caught. "And what's that for?"

A mutter under Max's breath – a count of Pokémon. "I see what you mean. Froslass, magnemite, masquerain, helioptile, spritzee, klefki, maybe loudred?"

That was one of the things Danny was hoping to find out. Masquerain probably wouldn't like the plan, though. "That's it, and if he has a talonflame, I'm in a bad way." They'd have to strategise a lot en-route to Violet. "Still don't know – is that _cookie dough?_ "

Max smiled sheepishly. "Serena's idea, actually. I needed something that was malleable and easy to get for gardevoir's practice. I was thinking about water, or maybe snow, but, well..." Any snow that had fallen overnight had already vanished completely. "This is a bit more solid, too. Easier to see if he's putting too much power into it."

The older teen wasn't sure if it was genius or insanity or both, but the explanation made a bit of sense. He'd have to see it in action, he supposed. "And what are you going to do with your other Pokémon?"

"Autonomous dodging," was not the expected answer. "I've got a _lot_ more ways to clip flying Pokémon's wings, remember. Ninjask are some of the fastest Flying-types out there, so if my Pokémon can dodge him…"

Danny ran through Max's collection of Pokémon in his head, instantly realising his friend was right about his team. Psychic-type Pokémon could stop wings, manectric was manectric, clefairy had Gravity, ninjask and doublade could fly themselves. "You're a lot better prepared than I am."

"Quirk of my team," Max said with a shrug. "And honestly… Teaching gardevoir restraint feels like the right thing to do. Maybe it'll make his Teleports smoother too."

"Oh?" That was something Danny hadn't heard, and he raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Tested it the day before we left Pallet. It felt like walking into a closed door. While running." Another shrug, but this time, Max put the pot down after. "Nothing a long soak didn't cure, but not something I'm eager to repeat either."

That sounded like a good idea.

The experiment with the cookie dough lasted for about ten minutes, Danny noticed from random glances in between watching loudred track masquerain and lead weak Hyper Voices into the Bug-type's path. They'd just started weaving in weak Gusts to dissipate the Normal-type's attacks when a sharp _whoosh_ sliced through the air, and dough went flying everywhere.

Danny ducked instinctively, but none of it came near enough to hit him. Loudred didn't have that luck, though. Masquerain immediately headed down to help the Normal-type. "Hope you didn't have plans for that," the older teenager called across the arena to Max's half.

Max and gardevoir came over, the human visibly amused, the Pokémon shrunk a bit. Embarrassment? "It's a good start. Yes," he added, and Danny wasn't sure if there had been any telepathic protest. "Can't expect to be good at it immediately." A pause fell, and Max tilted his head in a way that made Danny certain there was telepathy going on. "Just because you could doesn't mean you can now. Serena had to relearn how to walk after an injury."

The shock on the Psychic-type's face was clear as day. "Tell him later. I still want help with training for Falkner."

The gardevoir returned himself. Thoughtful, and it made Max smile. "Right. I'm assuming you want practice with Flying Pokémon going in close."

"Got half of it right." Spritzee and klefki appeared. "If you can use ninjask and doublade..." Danny asked, knowing that Max had both of those on hand. "Spritzee moves faster, so it's probably better if she practises with ninjask."

"Don't use Attract," Max addressed the pink Fairy-type, who tittered in confusion. "You can't guarantee you'll get a male opponent. If you do get one, great, but if you're relying on Attract and suddenly it doesn't work..."

The message was well-received, and Max quickly gave a few instructions to ninjask before both Pokémon flew up into the air. "Klefki," Danny addressed the small Pokémon. "You've been doing good work with the curved shots. I want you to practice those down here. Fire them at doublade."

"And then dodge them," Max added, to Danny's surprise. "Doublade's got the basics of deflection down, so now it's just practice under fire." A glance at the older teen. "That okay with you?"

Danny felt that was a stupid question, and he made sure to show Max just that.

They left the field, baltoy coming out as well to intercept any stray Mirror Shots from the deflection, and watched their Pokémon at work, looking for flaws and strengths.

Klefki and doublade were working together perfectly in a weird tennis match, that became clear almost immediately. Danny's Steel-type wielded the Mirror Shot expertly, infusing them with curves that were early and late and only the shots that went left and down seemed slightly harder at first, but he soon self-corrected that.

There were some issues when klefki tried to spin the projectile in such a way that it would go right first before reversing the curve leftwards, but that was only not curving left enough; the shots coming out to doublade's own left side.

Unfortunately, while everything was going alright down low, it wasn't up high. "Spritzee hasn't landed a single hit yet," Max said after they'd been watching for a while. "Ninjask is never there, and she's not fast enough on the Fairy Wind."

"She would've been with the Attract," Danny said, recognising the problem as well. "But can't rely on that. How big of a problem do you think it is?"

The bad news was visible on Max's face before the teen with glasses spoke up. "If the opponent knows Quick Attack, Agility, or anything like that, don't send her out. They'd never give her a chance to do what she wants to do if she can't land Attract."

Danny craned his neck, watching his pink Pokémon. She looked frustrated. "Maybe swap masquerain and ninjask now? See if loudred can deal with ninjask, and masquerain is – what the!"

A sudden burst of pink light gathered and erupted in front of spritzee's nose-beak, causing her to lose a bit of height as she surprised herself. She flew down immediately afterwards, using Protect to avoid getting hit by a deflected Mirror Shot. The Steel-type attack didn't even scratch the shield. "That looked a lot like Moonblast. Pink, vaguely round, gathered in front of face… It all fits."

A snap decision was made. "Then we'll go practice that," Danny declared as he held out an arm for spritzee to perch on. "You did well, but I don't think you're made for dealing with opponents that fast." It was nothing new for Danny or his Pokémon, but it was a bit annoying for the upcoming Gym. "You'll get your chance to fight in another Gym Battle, I'll make sure of it. Now go take a rest, okay?"

"She'll get her chance," Max told Danny nothing he didn't already know. "Give her a target and she's great. Something she can Draining Kiss." A wry smile. "I'll just give up if it's shelgon against her at some point."

Danny could understand. It hadn't been all that close last time, and now with a powerful Moonblast soon to be in her arsenal, spritzee could probably wipe the floor with the Dragon-type. "If that's her niche… Taking out slow and hard-hitting Pokémon, I mean," he added for Max's benefit, "then that's fine. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses." Two heartbeats passed. "As you're fond of pointing out."

The soft slug to his upper arm was affectionate, and Danny wouldn't have it any other way.

 **~~§~~§~~**

The door slammed behind him. Glass rang in the quiet street, but Evan did not care. He walked off, scowling as he thought about what he'd just heard his parents say.

" _You're not allowed to write to them, Evan,"_ his mother had said after reading his letter – _his_ letter _. "They can't reply regardless, and your father would be in so much trouble if someone learned you sent it."_

His father had just nodded beside her before going back to read the Saturday newspaper. _"They are still wanted. If I knew where they were, I would have to tell someone."_

Evan hadn't met Max that often, but they were the closest in age in the family. Max was smart enough to talk with the adults already, but he never was bad about it to Evan, and they'd spent most of the time at Uncle Norman and Aunt Caroline's 20th wedding anniversary just talking about everything, off in a corner with way too many snacks.

An older woman nearly bumped into him, and Evan scowled right back at her. She said something about

Trainers these days, and Evan gave her a finger behind his back in return. He'd seen her coming, but she'd walked into his path, forcing him to press himself half against a wall to still not avoid her. Stupid crone.

He walked for another few minutes, looking down at the ground intently and finally finding what he was looking for about a minute away from his old school. The reverse G made him think: a normal G was close to the Department Store, but he didn't remember what the reverse was for a second.

Then he remembered: a warehouse close to the harbour.

He'd never been there, but it was easy to find with a bit of walking and a short cut over a fence in a back alley. The warehouse was a dump: boarded up or broken windows, missing bricks, some green plant growing up one side of it.

"Was expecting you yesterday."

Evan did not jump up like a scared child. He just turned around to see a tall man, with black spiked hair and deep-set eyes off to the side. With a smirk, the adult pushed himself off a nearby building, walking up to him with swagger. "Shopping all day. Enough clothes for a fucking orphanage."

"Orphanages don't want your clothing, shorty. Kids your age aren't in one." Evan scowled, trying to duck the hand that went into his hair. "Scowl like that more and Lu's not going to let you leave."

"Where is she? In there?" Evan asked, starting to move towards the warehouse. A hand grabbed him by the back of his shirt. "Hey!"

"Don't wanna go in there," Os replied, pulling Evan back. "Why do you think I was here?"

Evan wrenched himself free. "You wanted some fucking air? Or maybe you were tired of Lu's yammering?"

A whistle echoed a bit in the quiet area. "Listened, did cha? Can't say you're wrong on that either. Still can't let ya in there."

They'd played this game before, and Evan liked it. "What's in it for me?"

"Your life," Os replied calmly, looming over Evan. Then he produced something from behind his back. "And some time with this boy."

The twelve-year-old tried to snatch the pokéball out of the adult's hand, but he wasn't fast enough. "What the shit. How are you so fast!"

Os tweaked Evan's nose hard, causing him to wince. "Just age, shorty. Just age." He released the nose before pressing the pokéball into Evan's left hand. "Don't they teach you how growing up works at school?"

"School's boring. Glad I'm rid of it," Evan replied, switching the ball to his right and fiddling with the release on it. Soon, a small grey Pokémon came out, barking happily as he saw Evan. "Hey buddy, did you miss me?"

The answer was a lot of licking as Evan lifted the poochyena into his arms, and he let it happen for a bit until it became too much, and he patted the Dark-type's side to make him stop. "Oh, right. You had your birthday. The big one-two," Os said from a few steps away. "How's it feel, little guy. You a big boy Trainer now? Where's your starter?"

"Don't have one yet," Evan mumbled.

"I left the day I turned twelve. Is stuff different here in Hoenn?"

"Not really. Had to wait for Mum to have free day first so we could shop for my clothing." He scratched poochyena under his chin, getting a high-pitched bark and a snap of a jaw for it. "And..."

"And you want this boy to be your starter but you can't because of some stupid-ass laws by some goblins." Evan looked up into a smile. Huh? "Heard ya talk last week. When you thought I was getting smokes. There's a simple way of solving that."

"Huh?"

Os grabbed the pokéball from the ground where it had fallen, pressing it into Evan's hand and closing the fist. "Take him. He's yours."

"I can't. Not allowed."

Another tweak of his nose, this one harder than before somehow. "Not allowed _here_ in Hoenn. So don't start in Hoenn. Start somewhere else. Makes ya safe from those random attacks too."

"Like Mum's going to let me. _'_ All our family started in Hoenn'," Evan said, trying to imitate his mother's voice and failing terribly. "I tried asking about starting in Johto, and she just told me that I wasn't allowed. They wouldn't allow it."

"Simple solution to that." Evan looked up into Os's face. "Just go to Johto. You're twelve. They can't fucking tell ya what to do. Ya think I told Mom I was leaving? Sure as shit didn't. Stupid whore was all conked in her bedroom and I grabbed stuff, got pawniard and got out. Bet she didn't even notice I left until she wanted me to buy food. Never seen her since." He shook his head as Evan tried to make sense of what he'd just heard. "Ya don't need to do it like that. Just go away while your parents are working and feed them something about not wanting to start in Hoenn because it's… I don't fucking know. Unsafe? Want to see other places? Want to freeze in Sinnoh? There's tons of boats here, Ev. One of them can take ya where ya fucking want to go." A sharp bark. "And him too."

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

LUMIOSE – _The Lumiose_ Palace de la Nation _was the theatre today for a much-anticipated event: the first day of trial for former Team Flare leader Lysandre Elisio. Those expecting insight were quickly disappointed, however, as Lysandre came without legal representation, only making a statement that he did not recognise the court and the regime behind it. Any questions directed his way were not answered,_ _nor did he speak to the press once the hearing was over._

 _T_ _he prosecution has confirmed in previous statements that they will seek life imprisonment for the role Lysandre played._

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Welcome to Johto!


	8. Family And Friends

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Family and Friends**

Winter had always been May's least favourite season, even if her birthday was in there. It was cold, often wet, and the world was so bleak and pale. There wasn't any life around, it felt like, and she couldn't wait until spring arrived in a month or two.

The road to Petalburg down Route 102 was pretty filled with starting Trainers for some reason, and a few of them recognised her from some place. The braver ones challenged her to a battle, and she used that to give skiploom some experience battling. She'd only caught the skittish Grass-type last week, the Pokémon having crashed into her while she was out walking on Route 110. They'd taken a liking to each other, and so skiploom became her newest Pokémon and her first catch since she'd travelled with Ash.

It wasn't really fair to the new Trainers, but they did challenge her. She made sure to give every one of them a few tips after the battle, just to soothe the hurt.

Skiploom couldn't last forever, but Mega Drain had made him last a lot longer than May had expected. It was good to know for later, she thought as the last Pokémon Center before Petalburg came into view from around a corner.

It was where she'd stay the night. Where she'd turn 16. Just admitting that made her feel old. It hadn't felt like four years since she'd left home, meeting Ash – and losing her bike – two days after her birthday and then travelling around the region with him and Brock and Max.

How had everything gone so _wrong_?

May had figured out that Ash leapt into danger eagerly after the first week. Only a slowpoke wouldn't have done that. The Pallet Town teenager sometimes said that trouble just found him without trying, but May knew better. That amount of trouble _had_ to be on purpose, it just couldn't be anything else. The Rockets helped, and after they'd stopped chasing Ash when he went to Sinnoh… Sinnoh had been quiet, Ash had admitted that himself when they'd talked. He'd said something about some crazy Legendary fighting in… What was it again? Alamos Town? She shook her head as she handed her Pokémon to Nurse Joy..

At first, she had believed him about that, but last month, she'd looked up the town and tried to find reports of Legendary Pokémon fighting there. Nothing had shown up in the news, no matter the website or newspaper she had read. The strangest thing she had found was that there'd been some kind of mass nightmare about people dying in that town, but that was just darkrai being darkrai probably. The Dark-type Legendary did that from time to time, the article had mentioned.

Maybe it was like the TV anchors had said. Ash had missed the trouble and the danger and had joined the G-men just to get his fix. Like an addict. And they had sent him out, finding a private laboratory to test the danger of Pokémon away from towns, and the rest was history. He went in there without asking what it was about, and destroyed the place, killing a Pokémon and injuring several more, and also injuring one of the employees who had been outside for a smoking break.

And her little brother had joined in like the blind pre-teen boy he was.

How could someone so smart – May had no illusions that her brother was the smartest in the family by a lot – be so stupid at the same time? He definitely sought danger out, gladly admitting it and trying to justify it by saying that he couldn't not do something.

It was just wrong, May knew. His brother and friends could have let qualified people deal with it all, running while possible. That was the entire point of warnings, wasn't it? They'd done part of it, telling someone – even if it was Lance – after that Gym Leader made a prediction. That was all fine. She didn't really understand why they had gone back to Lumiose from the other side of Kalos, but that wasn't important either. The only thing that was, was that they had gone with the Gym Leader when he'd irresponsibly asked if they wanted to come along.

Dad would never do that. He'd make sure others were safe first, sending them away from where everything was happening.

Max had changed because of it, and not for the better. Anyone would after being close to such a powerful Legendary. He had been so angry with her, that one time in the greenhouse. Even fighting – and drawing – Dad the day after hadn't helped in reducing that anger, and she'd had to suffer through his glares whenever they looked at each other over dinner. Mom and Dad hadn't cared about it though, and asking them about it after dinner had only made Mom reply that she knew what she'd done to earn it. That had confused her, and only after talking about it with someone else had she realised that she had been rude about it.

There wasn't any way of telling him that now, though.

May wasn't sure why Max had fled from the police, but she knew one thing. He needed help. He needed to vent to a therapist about what had happened in Geosenge. She'd said that to the police, and even the government guy who came and visited her a week or so later had agreed with her that he needed help to work through the obvious trauma. From being so close to yveltal, from being attacked like that in Coumarine, even from kirlia dying.

Visiting a therapist friend of the family had helped her a lot after the Slateport Festival where she'd lost all of her hair, even if it had only been a few times. Max had been through a lot more recently, and he didn't really have anyone to talk to that wasn't involved in some way, May thought.

She'd been relieved to hear that he wasn't wanted any longer, a few days after talking to the government guy. The police did still want to talk to him and to Danny, but that made sense. They had been at the scene of a crime.

Sadly, Max had somehow vanished off the face of the earth, and it was only after her week in the luxury resort that May had heard where he had ended up.

Kanto. Which had told the Hoenn government to fuck off.

The thought of politics still made May's head hurt, but somehow, someone had convinced Max and the Kanto government both that the G-men's fairytale was the right explanation. It was complete tauros shit, and it had made her furious when she'd realised that her brother wouldn't get the help he really needed now. Even just remembering that now caused searing anger to spike in her stomach.

A few deep breaths later, May opened her eyes to see that it was just about time to go and grab dinner. Somehow, she'd spent a good half hour thinking through everything. She left her room, but as she did, an idea appeared in her mind.

Maybe she should go and find him after getting a couple of Ribbons in this cycle.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Froslass fell to a Night Slash from Falkner's honchkrow, spiralling to the ground after the ranged scythe hit the tired Pokémon, and Danny returned her, muttering thanks for a good fight. It had been the first time the Dark-type had attacked from range using its own attacks, with an earlier Mirror Move surprising froslass as she had tried to create some space as the heavy-set Pokémon bore down on the tired Ghost-type.

Shadow Ball was always a double-edged attack around Ghost-types.

The teenager studied the Big Boss Pokémon, who had landed close to Falkner, looking impassive. From the distance, Danny couldn't see if it was tired or even hurt, but they were proud Pokémon, he remembered. They wouldn't show weakness until it was nearly fainting.

It wasn't fast, not really able to find ways to use its wings to hit froslass, which it had tried to do for a bit until the Shadow Ball had offered a better way. That meant it was more physical probably, and while it wasn't that heavy, Danny's flying Pokémon were _very_ light. It was slow enough to make spritzee work, but one Wing Attack and the Fairy-type would just hit the ground. Masquerain and magnemite would fare better, but not too much. Weight wasn't that important on the ground, but it was in the air.

Loudred it was, then. She was heavier than honchkrow and she definitely had plenty of tricks to deal with any dive-bombing.

The Dark-type took flight as flags swept down, making no real attempt yet at reaching loudred, unlike against froslass. Danny and his Pokémon studied the movement for a moment. "Echoed Voice and Supersonic," Danny whispered his first order.

There were times when loudred was effectively deaf to what Danny said, but at the start of a battle, she wasn't, and the back of the purple Pokémon tensed in concentration. Honchkrow saw that something was coming, and it sped up its flight, but it kept up its circling overhead.

The flight turned into a small dip as the combination attack hit; the Echoed Voice energy missing but the Supersonic screeching temporarily freezing motor functions showed Falkner that there was more at work. There was a gesture at the opposite side, and the Dark-type went into a full dive, wings glowing with silvery Steel-type. "Avoid it."

The Normal-type prepared, and just before the honchkrow would have hit her, she dove to the side, rolling on her back and immediately getting up again as her opponent adjusted course with a furious flap. A quick Screech didn't deter it any, but even as the wing slapped loudred in the side, Danny saw his Pokémon take a deep breath in.

The Uproar came out when honchkrow was maybe six feet away, and the expanding cacophony was enough to unbalance the flying Pokémon, which crashed into the ground, sliding along for a moment and stopping not too far from where Danny was standing.

Hopping to its feet, the honchkrow exhaled a thick black smoke, steeling itself against the onslaught of sound that loudred was still putting out and vanishing from sight.

Danny folded his arms as he waited for visibility to return. At this point, neither of them could do anything: gestures and pointing wouldn't make it through the smoke, and the Uproar was too loud and disruptive for any shouted orders to work. The way the smoke roiled told Danny that the Uproar was ongoing, but that was it.

Loudred skidded out of the smoke, a hand going to the edge of her large mouth and swiping at it. Danny wasn't certain what had happened, but he could guess, especially after he saw Falkner's Pokémon take flight, looking a bit ruffled, but otherwise okay.

He couldn't tell loudred what to do yet; not verbally, but here, she could see him, and their eyes met for a moment. A quick gesture; a palm thrust outward, told her what he thought should be done, and she obliged. A burst of continuous circles tore through the sky, and honchkrow was forced to make a very awkward-looking roll to avoid the Hyper Voice.

Two thrusts and then a fist balling up led to another two barrages of Hyper Voice; the second one clipping the left wing and sending honchkrow closer to the floor. It recovered faster than Danny had expected, opting for a Mirror Move that caused it to use Hyper Voice. The attack met the second round of Echoed Voice of the match; a solid-looking six-by-six wall of energy that crashed into the Hyper Voice and immediately caused an explosion.

That was good for Danny, even if he couldn't give another order while loudred was busy weathering the shock wave. He didn't need to either: the Big Voice Pokémon had the same idea in building up a third Echoed Voice, focusing on speed over strength. The resonance meant that it still was a pretty large attack, and honchkrow, which hadn't been able to brace itself as well as loudred had been able to, was unable to recover from the previous explosion before this attack crashed in, forcing it to the ground.

Falkner returned it from across the field, despite the Pokémon still seeming to have a little fight left. Then again, there was no way loudred was going to let it come close enough to get another attack in.

Swoobat was Falkner's third Pokémon, and it – he – only had to unleash one attack for Danny to grab loudred's pokéball. The Attract had been lightning-fast, obviously something that they had practised, and Danny had spotted the slight sway in loudred's body.

He didn't need a love-sick Pokémon in battle, thank you.

Swoobat were fast as a rule, and Danny could guess that it would know something to counter Ghost-types, making it a very unfavourable match for dusclops. Helioptile was out as well, since she was, well, female.

It was the speed that was the deciding factor for Danny to choose his Pokémon, and with a powerful throw, magnemite appeared in mid-air, swaying from side to side a bit as it looked at its opponent.

"No Attract here," Danny muttered as the referee's flags went up, and the moment they went down, he ordered a Protect, expecting another rapid attack at the restart of the battle. Magnemite was prepared for the command, and it blocked a Confusion trying to envelop the magnet-like Pokémon. "Lock On."

A second Confusion connected, but so did the Lock On, and a moment later, magnemite readied electricity, drowning out the already diminishing psychic energy that hadn't really done much to scramble its thoughts and forcing swoobat to start thinking about his own defences.

Pale blue met vivid yellow in a violent clash, and while the two attacks seemed to be equal in strength, magnemite had the advantage of having sparred with multiple Psychic-types over the last year and a half. Its output shot up for half a second, and like a power surge, the electricity suddenly overpowered the psychic barrier, reaching the swoobat and sending him spiralling down.

It was too early to chase, and so magnemite held position as wings gained control of the descent, and a Heart Stamp was soon sent upwards. The range meant it was easy to disperse; a precise Mirror Shot piercing through and impacting on the ground below. The Courting Pokémon had already vanished, and Danny tracked its movement to behind magnemite, where it glowed kaleidoscopic for a second, but nothing happened.

"He used Future Sight," Danny informed magnemite as another long-range Heart Stamp was snuffed out by another Mirror Shot. Swoobat was refusing to come close, instead opting to swoop around the arena, flapping his small wings rapidly to rise before going into a glide. "Hold Protect for that, get a Lock On in."

The Lock On landed, but then magnemite was forced to defend itself from another Confusion. This time, however, the defence wasn't enough, and Danny immediately saw why: the Psychic attack had been spear-shaped, like baltoy's psionic spike, and magnemite was expecting to defend something else.

The tip reached magnemite, impacting on one of the small magnets and sending it spinning around its own axis in mid-air. Swoobat attempted to get a quick Heart Stamp in, but Danny quickly yelled "Drop!", and his Electric-type fell several feet as its electromagnetism was temporarily gone. The Heart Stamp soared overhead and with a final twist, magnemite got control back of its movement. It chose to use Mirror Shot as swoobat halted to counter the attack. "Supersonic behind it."

Mirror Shot and Confusion met, cancelling each other out, but magnemite had already adjusted its position, veering right to avoid the other attacks and sending out the Supersonic. Swoobat wasn't fast enough to resume moving, and the attack connected, causing Falkner's Pokémon to start shaking his body around to get rid of the confusion in his brain.

"Move close, Thunder Wave," Danny ordered, hoping to make the most of the distraction, and the Electric-type whirred through the air, adjusting its electrical output to paralyse wings, but before it could hit, a Future Sight orb blinked into existence behind magnemite. "Protect!"

It wasn't enough. Danny saw the Protect crack open and a barely weakened attack hit magnemite. Kinetic energy caused it to rocket off, right into the confused swoobat, and for a moment, both Pokémon were in free fall as they tried to reassert flight.

They did so at roughly the same time. A quick and blind Thundershock lurched from magnemite's back towards swoobat, but he deflected the yellow energy down with a Confusion, making it pass under him by inches at the most. A Heart Stamp landed a moment after as magnemite swivelled around in mid-air, but it wasn't enough to knock magnemite out. Danny knew that his Pokémon wouldn't be able to take too much more, though: the Future Sight had been powerful and it had needed to overpower the earlier defence as well, siphoning more energy away.

But there was plenty of fight left in both of them. "Another one."

Magnemite was unerringly accurate at Locking On, and this time, swoobat forewent distance, diving straight towards the electric-type after being targeted. He went _fast_ , momentarily vanishing in what looked like an Aerial Ace manoeuvre, but there was a hint of psionic blue on his head as well.

Belatedly, Danny realised it was another combination attack – Zen Headbutt and Aerial Ace – and magnemite paid the price for it as pure transferred momentum nearly made it hit the ground before it was able to right itself. One of the magnets had been knocked off-centre as well, but flailing movement from above also caught Danny's attention, and his gaze shot up to see swoobat trying to shake off something that looked like paralysis.

Had magnemite had a Thunder Wave on itself as swoobat had hit? Danny didn't know, and he didn't care either. This was _the_ opportunity. "Everything you have!"

The output was more than Danny was expecting, but less than he knew magnemite was capable of – the magnet being bent out of shape seemingly really hurt for guiding electricity. Still, it was more than enough to make swoobat cease struggling, instead falling to the ground listlessly.

Falkner didn't even wait for his Pokémon to hit the ground, returning it several feet up. Danny soon did the same to a visibly flagging magnemite. "We'll get that fixed," he spoke soothingly. "You were great out there."

A minute later, everyone met up on the side of the arena. "Both of you, impressive work," Falkner told them. The blue-haired Gym Leader thrust a hand outward, two silver Zephyr Badges in his palm. "Well-balanced teams and a variety of strategies to deal with my Flying-type Pokémon. You also passed my secondary test of being able to think fast. It was as I expected from what I saw in the Kalos Conference."

"You watched that?" Max asked from beside Danny, who was studying the wing pattern for a bit, missing Max's expression.

"Parts, to prepare," Falkner said, donning a wry smile. "Sadly, my preparation didn't include that magnemite. Swoobat might be a generally more powerful Pokémon, but being unable to use Flying-type attacks and Attract both clipped my and his wings very effectively. A well-chosen Pokémon, though there was some luck involved as well."

Danny's mind went back to the Future Sight ricochet. "Loudred was still okay and it'd be harder for her to fall for Attract a second time," he replied. "But I'm glad magnemite was able to win. We've had a lot of too-strong opponents recently. It fell by the side a bit."

Falkner's nod was understanding. "Your credentials suggested that, yes. But to your credit, leading with your strongest Pokémon available was an excellent move. You put me in a spot where I had to do something, and you thrived in that role."

"That was our plan for me," Danny admitted. "Max has a team that's good for this Gym. I don't, so we thought I needed to make things count fast."

The Gym Leader glanced aside, looking for something Danny didn't catch. "This happens. The situation will be different later. But I have to ask you Max," Falkner said as he turned to the other teenager. "Why did you not use manectric?"

"You said no Mega," Max reminded the Gym Leader.

Falkner grimaced. "Ah. A misinterpretation. I only meant that you shouldn't use the Mega Evolution. The Pokémon itself would've been fine. I was fully expecting you to use it as your third, and minior does know Bulldoze."

"That too? It was annoying enough as it was," Max said, not even trying to hide the leftover frustration that Danny had seen during the battle. The Alolan Pokémon had pushed xatu hard with its change in style once it had taken some hits. "I'm just glad it was a Flying-type."

Falkner smiled as they all remembered xatu's strategy of using Synchronoise. "Not something you can expect to work often, but maybe more useful for it." The lift opened behind them, and all of them turned around to see a girl step out; looking a bit shocked at the sudden attention. A totodile by her side looked between its Trainer and the three of them. "I think my next challenge is here. Good luck to you."

 **~~§~~§~~**

The waves subsided, and the blastoise reverted back to regular. Misty followed it up by returning the Gym Pokémon, still a bit bewildered that it had worked. She didn't use him that much in fights; only when the gloves came off. "Can you tell me what this was about now, Professor?" she asked. "Can't influence the experiment now."

Old and wise eyes regarded her, and she saw the intelligence and the acumen that made him so respected in Kanto. "While you were with Ash… How often did you encounter life-threatening danger?"

The question took Misty aback, but not aback enough to miss the soft snap as the room was sound-sealed. "You probably know them all," she prevaricated as she collected her thoughts. "Probably three or four times? Not counting Team Rocket and their plot of the week. What does this have to do with Mega Evolution?" She made it clear she expected answers.

"Gary hypothesised that brain development is a factor in being able to utilise Mega Evolution," Oak started, meandering a bit. There usually was a point to it, though. "Consider that, apart from the exceptions you know about, all previously established Mega Evolutions were done by people past the age of 21, and Korrina in Kalos still undercuts the next closest by a year and a bit. Most of the known exceptions revolve around Ash." Misty made to speak, but Oak shook his head. "More specifically, the danger he regularly finds himself in."

Had Gary ever been with them on one of those life-threatening events? Misty didn't remember offhand. She could explain Max's friend away, at least. "When was Gary..."

"Mewtwo."

That explained the sound-sealing. Deeply classified information that Misty didn't even remember part of. She'd made peace with that ages ago. "Okay. What are you saying, Professor?"

"Gary, myself, and Professor Rowan, up in Sinnoh, want to prove that there are age-related limitations to Mega Evolution, if only to stop inexperienced young Trainers from somehow getting their hands on a Mega Stone and then losing it to an organisation like Team Rocket. What we are having problems with is coming up with skilled, trustworthy, and accessible Trainers for this." The grey-haired Professor fixed eyes on hers. "I want you to keep an eye out."

One name came into Misty's mind immediately. "Does May have a venusaur? I kno…"

She trailed off due to the Professor's shake. "She is out for two reasons. The first is that she still has an ivysaur."

"And the second reason?"

"Her brother was persuasive in arguing she wasn't trustworthy."

The few times she'd seen both of them, they had been typical sister and brother: occasionally annoyed with each other, but otherwise they'd defend each other to the death. Sure, Max hadn't been a teenager yet, but even when she had been most angry with her sisters, they were still family. "What makes him say that?" she asked cautiously. The explanation made enough sense. "Plausible enough."

"Agreed. It is disappointing. She would have been a strong indication." The Professor shook his head, a hint of a sigh escaping him. "Any other ideas?"

This time, she had. The association of siblings brought her to someone obvious, and Misty wasn't sure how she had missed him the first time around. He was a co-Gym Leader, for manaphy's sake. "Forrest. Brock's brother," she stated. "He has the bond with steelix, he's about my age, and he's probably not had anything like what the rest of us have had."

A rare sheepish look overtook Professor Oak's face, making Misty glad she hadn't been the only one missing the fairly quiet young adult. "That would be a great start," he admitted. "Steelixite is one of the easier Mega Stones to acquire, and his credentials are impeccable."

The room unsealed itself, and for a few more moments, they chatted about contacting Forrest, ending up with Misty testing the waters to see if he was amendable. She had been planning to spend the night in Pewter anyway en-route to Cerulean. Partially because she didn't want to go through Mount Moon or over the inhospitable terrain to the south at night, and partially because Brock's cooking was good enough to take a detour for.

 **~~§~~§~~**

The black-haired man was busy, stuffing things into a nondescript regular pack; the kind you wouldn't look at twice in any town. The door to the former office was closed, and the building had been build before internal windows had come into vogue. "Hello Oscar."

The man overreacted, sending a wad of money flying as a knife appeared out of nowhere. The money looked like legal tender, or a very good fake, at least at first glance. "Fucking hell," the seedy man said as he saw who had interrupted him. "Thought I'd seen the last of ya. Guess I was fuckin' wrong."

The knife vanished into an inner holster, but the man didn't shed the tense posture. "It should be now. I'm just here to tie up some loose ends." His own hand went into an inner pocket, and an envelope soon flew through the room. It landed on the desk. "Received this yesterday."

A finger went under the envelope's fold, and a letter slid out. Oscar took it, starting a cautious read; eyes darting between paper and person. "He made it to Kanto safe, registered… Says Professor Oak had found a stray Pokémon that took a shine to him..." the Unovan summed up. "Kanto's not got any poochyena, right?"

A shrug. "Evan counts on us not knowing that. Neither of us is inclined to say something about it."

"What does his mother think about the Pokémon?"

Evan's father chuckled softly. "She believes Professor Oak took pity on him. Her nephew's got a good rapport with Oak, and it was the explanation she jumped to." And he hadn't even needed to push her. Fortuitous to say the least. "She's not thrilled about potentially not seeing him until he fulfils the requirements, but also secretly relieved that he's out of Hoenn."

"As most mothers would be." Bitterness infused the barely-adult's voice, twisting it into dark mockery of what would normally be praise. "She doesn't know about..."

"I wouldn't be here if she knew." Probably because she'd be chewing him out extensively, and Philip wasn't sure his wife would understand even with his best attempts. "She still thinks Evan's just been wandering around town or going to friends." Which was true, from a certain point of view.

That caused some confusion. "But… You said Ev isn't a good liar. Said that was why you found out about us."

As if boys that age cou… No, wait, his cousin had proven that slightly wrong if Norman and Caroline's private complaining over Yule had been any indication. "She believes it's just him hitting puberty early and testing how far he can go. It wasn't worth picking a battle over."

Oscar didn't understand. He wouldn't. Not with what Philip knew of the man's background. He made a good attempt at looking like he did, and silence fell between them.

He had said everything he had to, but when he turned around, signalling unseen, Oscar spoke up once more. "Wait. Why..." The criminal took a deep breath. "You know what we do. Made it clear as fuck. Why'd you let Ev come to us? Weren't..."

"After what happened to Geoffrey, you wouldn't." The tension in the room skyrocketed, and Philip didn't even need to turn back to Oscar to know the man had frozen. Now was the time to hammer the weakness in his armour. "How much do you hate yourself, Oscar? Knowing that you peddle the same shit that got your younger brother killed before even reaching ten?" No answer came, as expected. "If you want out – all of you – then I can help."

Eventually, curiosity won out over anger. "How?" the other man croaked pitiably.

A swivel, and Philip told him. It didn't help the man's complexion much.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Indigo Plateau was just like Ever Grande City in how busy it was with the upcoming League. Even from their perch in the mountains surrounding the place, Danny could almost see the bustle of a busy place. it was different from the kind he'd encountered in Kalos; in Lumiose; but that had taught him the signs of it anyway.

There were four stadiums visible, as well as one main Pokémon Center. Other buildings weren't as instantly recognisable, but at least one of the higher buildings had a logo belonging to some kind of hotel company on it. "I thought you said there were five stadiums here?"

"There's a kind of pit beyond those tall buildings in the middle. They built one of the stadiums in there," Max told him before moving a ways down the cliff they were standing on. "It's visible from here."

A small gap between the buildings showed just that, giving them a glimpse of a stadium's outer wall. Danny didn't know which one it was. He saw Rock and Water, so it could be Ice or Grass. "Feels weird that there's only four stadiums involved. Ever Grande has a lot more."

"Ever Grande needs to fit in up to a thousand participants. Kanto has a hard limit of 256, first come first serve basis. Most Trainers have probably already been here for a week."

Danny nodded to that. Alice and Linda had told them just that earlier, as they had been travelling from the Battle Tower and taking a scenic route around the area. it had been two weeks since they'd beaten Falkner in Violet City, and while they'd tried to find a Gym Battle at the Dark-type Gym, that hadn't been possible. For good reasons, they both felt: the Gym Leader had given birth to twins prematurely, but it was a bit disappointing to have to go over a month without a Gym Battle. Violet to Azalea would be about a week's worth of travel non-stop, and more with training pauses or trouble getting through Union Cave, so they were looking at a new badge at the end of February. Hopefully.

Going to a nearby Gym after the League was done was not an option either. You never wanted to be at a Gym close to a Conference location once it was done. Max's Dad had told them that much when they were younger.

Flapping wings from above broke Danny's thoughts, and he twisted his neck around. An orange Pokémon was slowly descending, half-gliding, and it was one both of them recognised immediately. "That's one problem solved," Max said drily.

"Not much of a problem with Pokénavs," Danny replied equally drily as the Fire-type landed nearby. Ash jumped off the draconic Pokémon's back, patting the flank before returning him. "Were you looking for us?"

"Just luck," Ash replied as he walked up with a wide grin, pikachu appearing from inside his small backpack and jumping out to close the distance faster than his Trainer. "I was off checking out the Victory Road park for a bit. There are some scary strong Pokémon there."

"I thought it was restricted?" Max asked as he half-knelt, giving pikachu a scratch on the head. "We couldn't go there last time."

Ash didn't reply immediately, instead pulling Max up and into a quick hug. Some protest ensued, not least pikachu who demanded more scratches in an exaggerated put-off tone. "Perk of being a strong Trainer." The older teenager looked back at where the park was, roughly. "Did you know it used to be a test for Trainers?"

Danny did not, but Max replied first. "Ash Ketchum, trying to teach us history? Who are you and what have you done to him?"

"Had to learn it somehow without Brock around. And you, sometimes," Ash replied in turn, which shut Max up. Grins were shared. "They stopped it a few years before Professor Oak started out. It's just been a protected area since." He looked around, but there was nobody nearby. "Lance would probably let you in if you stuck together."

"Let's not," Danny told Max before the younger boy could suggest it. "I'm here to relax and have fun, and not have to watch out for some rampaging rhyhorn."

A small stare-off was broken by Ash clearing his throat. "Well… I'm not sure if it's relaxing, but would you have fun helping me train during the tournament?"

Danny blinked. A lot of times. Did Ash really just… "Aren't there any others?" he found himself asking.

Ash shook his head. "Misty's stuck in Cerulean and Brock's only coming a few days. His parents are on a trip until next week, so he has to stay home and take care of his family." A wry smile appeared. "And after the last tournament and the training I did for that, we kind of know each other's teams too well."

That sounded entirely too familiar, Danny had to admit. He could also imagine that Ash would know their styles inside and out after years on the road with both of them. "We're not going to be as good as them," he warned Ash good-naturedly.

"Don't undersell yourself. You're both smarter than I'll ever be and you've got a few really powerful Pokémon on your team." The nod was obviously aimed at the necklace against Danny's chest and the wristband Max was wearing; both hidden beneath coat and shirt. "I'm not sure I have any Pokémon who can defeat manectric one on one without resorting to Mega absol."

The comment made both pikachu and charizard react; the former amused, the latter sounding a bit insulted. "You fly, charizard," Max said, not really caring about the Fire-type's grumpiness. "Manectric's got a lot of output. More than pikachu, even."

Now it was pikachu's turn to appear insulted, and Ash concurring made it even worse. It was all an act, though, Danny knew.

An idea lit up inside his brain. "I'm game," he said, to Max's surprise. His best friend had probably expected that he'd need convincing. "But only if you give us a battle on full strength. Not an easy one like we had before: one we'd have if we met in a League."

"You're going to lose. You know that, right?" Ash said softly, matter-of-factly.

"Of course," Danny agreed. "It..." he continued, only to fall silent as he realised he didn't know where he was going. All the others gave him a moment to collect his thoughts. "We need the practice. Nearly all of the others we challenge are just weaker. It's good practice for the ones that aren't as strong, but people keep saying we're prodigies and potential Champion material." Mostly Max, but Danny had heard Keith at one point, when the older teenager thought he wasn't listening. "We need to know what that level is like."

Max's surprised look made Danny want to break out in a chuckle, but he restrained himself. Barely. "Did you read my mind?!"

"Not sure I'd want to," Danny fake-muttered. It got the obligatory middle finger from Max and a smile from Ash. "We've been travelling together for nearly two years. Some of you has rubbed off on me I think."

Before Max could return the favour, Ash cleared his throat. "If you're okay with it, I'm okay with it, but I don't want to battle here in the practice grounds." He turned towards Max, ever so slightly. "How far can xatu Teleport the three of us?"

"Fifty miles at least," Max said after a moment of thinking. "I know we did that to get to Lumiose with Serena, and you're probably not heavier than all our packs and Serena combined. Why?"

"Pewter's about forty miles east and Brock never does challenges after eight at night. We wouldn't have to think about keeping attacks in or about others watching us." Ash glanced down at the Plateau, and Danny followed his gaze. "There's still four days until it starts. Tomorrow and the day after good?"

"It's a deal."

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _Name: Falkner_

 _Age: 28_

 _Type: Flying_

 _Location: Violet City_

 _Signature Pokémon: pidgeot (multiple)._

 _Typical format: 3v3_

 _Information: Flying-type Gym Leaders are birds of a feather: a variety of largely fast Pokémon and a demand of challengers that they're able to deal with fights in three dimensions. Falkner occasionally brings out a dodrio or gliscor curveball at higher levels, as well as a degree of preparation not often seen. For learning how to work with and against Flying-types, he is one of the best in the business for that reason._

From: Poképedia's Johto Gym Leader Profiles


	9. Retreading Known Paths

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 8:** **Retreading Known Paths  
**

The first thing Max noticed when they met up with Alice and Linda, a night's sleep after getting to Indigo Plateau, was that he was taller than Alice. Not much, but enough that it was noticeable, and after everyone around him had started hitting growth spurts and being taller, he was kind of paying attention to it.

The second thing was that Linda's hugs had only gained in strength, and her releasing him was both satisfying and a little painful. "It's been so long!" Linda enthused after she'd done the same to Danny. "There's letters and calls and stuff, but they only show a bit of how much you've changed since we last saw each other in person. How long was it again?"

"Thirteen months," Max replied, smiling at the typical rapid-fire words. "Two years ago, if you want to put it that way."

"Clever," Linda said with a smile, toying with her brown hair, about the length of Max's own. "'course, lots happened since then." A hint of curiosity crept into her voice, and Max repressed a silent sigh. It was understandable. "Why'd you do that when others just ran away?"

He shouldn't have been surprised that Linda was asking that question. Not after what she'd told them a week or two back, just after winning the Zephyr Badge. Alder, Unova's Champion when Team Plasma had taken over, had been forced to resign per the new year, and when doing so, he'd said that he'd only done nothing because he felt that the people of Unova should have taken their fates into their own hands instead of relying on Champions and Elite Four members and all to do everything for them. "Can we… Can we talk about this elsewhere?"

Alice and Linda both glanced around, seeing a good amount of people milling around. It was only nine in the morning, but the Indigo Plateau didn't really sleep while there was a League or a Grand Festival going on. "Sure thing," Linda told them. "Got any ideas?"

A rumble from Danny's stomach caused all of them to look at the tallest teenager present. "Didn't you get breakfast while I was in the shower?" Max asked, raising an eyebrow at his sheepish friend.

For some reason, Danny blushed. "Got distracted," he mumbled, not quite quiet enough that Max couldn't hear it. "Can we get breakfast first? Anything will do."

It was half an hour before they found a suitably quiet spot. Xatu wasn't with him, or Max would've just used her to Teleport them or throw up a barrier. He wasn't quite willing to subject them to gardevoir's teleportation.

Besides, it allowed them to catch back up a bit. Calls and letters only did so much.

He cleared his throat, and silence fell. That caused a ball of amusement in his stomach: just seeing people stop from that _was_ amusing. "You both know the basics of why we were there?"

Alice nodded. "Yer Gym Leader friend sent you on to warn Geosenge. That's wha' it was, right?"

That was the public story. "The details are… Different. Clemont found a map with an estimate of what was going to happen to Geosenge. It was not good."

"Most of the town destroyed," Danny added softly. "Completely destroyed; not-a-wall-standing destroyed." The Gym Leader had had rotom show the map to them later, after all was over.

Both of the girls made horrified faces, Alice also gasping. "But, yveltal?" she asked. "Did you..."

"We didn't know," Max corrected with a shake of his head. "I didn't know until deep underground. I saw its cocoon and it was the scariest thing I'd ever seen, but I'd only realised it could be one of the Kalos Legendaries a couple minutes before."

"Didn'tcha want ta run from it?"

An echo of revulsion surged in Max's stomach as he relived the moment. "Yeah… But I couldn't. Not with that Team Flare was about to do," he answered Alice. "Danny and Jane were keeping others off my back. I couldn't go back for them, and I couldn't just leave. And..."

He caught Danny's eyes, raising his wrist ever so slightly. "And it's who Max is," his best friend finished for him, somehow making it not sound exasperated.

"How so?" Linda wondered. "What's that got to do with anythin'?"

Max uncovered his Key Stone from underneath two layers of clothing and the wristband cover. "Every Mega Evolution has requirements. It's not just the stones, it's also the bond with your Pokémon and your thoughts and feelings have to be in sync." He took the wristband off, handing it to Linda, who took it extremely carefully. "You need a… A reason? A cause?"

"Triggering the process is a lot about _who_ you are," Danny took over. "I've tried to stop him, but Max is all about fighting and battling. It's wired into whatever passes for his brain." Max gave him a lazy middle finger. "He wants to stop everyone who's using Pokémon for evil."

Both girls were silent as they worked through all the information they'd just been given. "So… Ya just need to know yerself really well?" Alice asked eventually, glancing between the boys and the wristband now in her hands. "Plus, ya know, stones and the right Pokémon."

"I think it's mostly stones," Max opined. "It took Danny, what, two weeks and a bit? Daily attempts, but it wasn't like he spent most of his time thinking about it."

"More than you probably think, though," Danny added, and Max nodded, conceding the point. "Sure, we're good Trainers and yada and _blah_ ," he continued, "but it's not like the bond you need with your Pokémon is some kind of fairy tale thing. Just need to be honest with yourself. That's the most important, I think."

"What's it that helps you Mega Evolve aggron then? If I'm allowed to ask that, 'cause it sounds kinda private and all that," Linda asked, stopping herself abruptly. "It's fine if you don't want to answer..."

Danny shrugged. "It's about protecting for me," he said nonchalantly. "Protecting the ones I love. If Max is the sword, I'm the shield."

"Yer makin' it sound all poetic and stuff."

"Blame my Dad for that."

 **~~§~~§~~**

It was the second day of the League when Danny found himself waiting for Max to come back with some early lunch. Ash's match wasn't too far off, but there was time for lunch to still be had, and so the two teenagers had left Ash for the moment, instead stepping out into a clear February day with only a hint of clouds up above and a ton of people on the streets of the Indigo Plateau.

Being a spectator was _weird_ after staying in the entire tournament just a few months before. No need to find out who you were facing and looking them up, not a lot of talking strategy just yet because Ash probably didn't need that until later rounds anyway, and a ton of free time to watch all the matches they could ever want to watch. Linda was the only other they knew from before, though Max swore up and down that he'd seen one of his early opponents in Ever Grande.

It was also different from the May tournament in Kalos, because that often just was sitting in the stadium all day. No easy travel between the two locations and everything being available inside the stadium itself made that the right choice back then. Here, they could choose if they wanted to see beginners or veterans, Ice-field slipping and sliding or Water-field diving… It was great!

A hard tug on his sleeve half-swung Danny around, but before he could even think about anything, he saw someone he had not expected to see at all. Twelve years old, short light brown hair, thin face with grey eyes currently looking very mirthful… "Evan?!"

"The look on your face!" Max's cousin replied, snorting and closing his eyes. "You looked like an idiot! Are you one?"

"I'd hope not," Danny muttered automatically as he tried to make sense of everything. "What on Earth are you doing here? Thought your parents wanted you to start in Hoenn." Evan had told him that in the airport after the photos had been made.

That wasn't the right thing to say, Danny immediately realised. A scowl came over Evan's face for a moment, and when it vanished, the easy smile didn't return. "They wanted me to, I didn't want to. Kanto's tons better anyway."

Half a dozen questions – at least- ran through Danny's head, but he could ask none of them before he saw Evan's face turn into a smirk, followed by a "What the hell!" from behind him.

"Shorty," Evan told the newly arrived Max as Danny stepped to the side to create a triangle to talk in.

Max let it slide, instead handing Danny one of the small paper bags he was carrying. "Didn't start in Hoenn after all. You know poochyena aren't common in either Kanto or Johto, right?"

"Still found one just outside Pallet, so," Evan retorted, sticking his tongue out. "And no fucking rules eith… What? You're not going to tell me off for _language,_ are you?"

Belatedly, Danny realised he was staring at Evan, his mouth slightly agape at the swearing. He closed it, before trying to say something and not really finding the words.

It repeated itself a few times, and then Max saved him. "I think he's not used to someone your age doing that. Or so casually." Max put a few patronising pats on Danny's back. "Nearly fourteen going on forty, he is." The blue-haired teenager leant forward. "He's even drinking coffee. He's really an old man."

"You try it one time," Danny replied, refraining from rolling his eyes. Barely. "Just wanted to see why people like it." And he still wasn't completely sure why. It wasn't bad with a lot of milk and sugar, but even through that, he had tasted the bitterness. "And you're really one to talk, Max."

"I am, aren't I?" Max replied, smirking, knowing he had won this little exchange. "Anyway, it's running close to quarter past. We should get going, Danny."

"Where're you going?" Evan asked as they started walking, the youngest of the lot falling in as Danny unwrapped his sandwich. A pidgeotto flew low overhead, and Danny saw Evan duck, while he and Max barely flinched. Angle wasn't right. "Why the hell didn't you duck?"

The answer had to wait for a moment as a blast of static heralded an announcement, but it was only one about a little boy looking for his parents. "Used to it," Max said as he lobbed a crumpled-up bag at a litter bin, but the ball bounced off the edge, and they seamlessly detoured to allow Max to put his rubbish away. "Catch a flying Pokémon. You'll be the same in no time."

"So metapod needs to evolve?"

"That'd do it. Probably."

 **~~§~~§~~**

Not for the first time, Danny marvelled at how easy xatu made it to sneak away without people noticing. Having a room by themselves helped, but the only reason they had teleported into a cold Kanto night was because none of them had ever been inside the Kanto Grand Champion's residence. Xatu had flown over it, memorising the location and now putting them in a… Vegetable garden? _What?_

"Welcome," Lance said from the shadows, startling Danny. Max barely flinched, annoyingly. "Let's head in."

He hadn't been sure what he'd been expecting, but somehow, Danny felt the stuffy interior fit Lance. It wasn't as formal as the Battle Chateau had been, but everything inside was closer to that than it was to most places they'd been. Artwork on the walls, busts of past Grand Champions… If it weren't for the warm lights, it could've been a museum.

They were led to a living room that was at least a bit more homey, mostly thanks to the fire crackling in the hearth. A dragonair rose from a kind of hammock nearby, swiftly zooming over to them and taking a long look at what had come in. This was followed by a closer sniff; allowing Danny to smell the uniquely draconic scent through the start of a cold. "That's enough, dragonair," Lance said from the sitting area. "I assume hot chocolate is still as popular with the youth of today as it was when I was your age?"

Dragonair went back to its resting place as both of them took the surprisingly cool glasses. The contents were hot; Danny saw that, but somehow, it didn't transfer the heat. "Not going to say no," Max said from beside him before sitting down in a grey armchair, somehow managing to look both at ease _and_ somewhat ridiculous. It wasn't made for someone as small as Max, obviously, but he didn't seem to care.

Danny's seat fit better, and it was every bit as comfortable as it looked. "I hope you've been enjoying the battles on show here," Lance said as he offered some marshmallows to sink into the drink. Danny took one, Max took two.

They dropped the sweets in. "It's been fun," Max said, and Danny agreed with a nod. "The different fields add a lot of thinking because you can bring a specialised team. Kind of have to, even."

A fourth round battle on the Ice-field earlier that day was the reason for Max's comment, Danny was sure of it. There'd been a nidoqueen, sent out to battle a magnemite, but she didn't really have anything to attack the magnemite with that wasn't dodged, and when she tried to dodge, the ice had gotten the better of her. "It's one reason we keep Ice around," Lance agreed, either knowing or guessing what Max was referring to. "Though some think it strange that we do not switch fields in the final rounds. Regardless," the Grand Champion said, "there's some things you should know."

"Bring it."

A mildly annoyed look communicated perfectly that Lance brooked no interruptions. "You may or may not have heard that you've not been officially wanted since the end of December," he started with something familiar. "And undoubtedly, you've wondered about that and if it meant you could go back." He shook his head. "It does not. Neither Reginald nor others are certain why the change occurred, but it is a safe assumption that they'd still like to capture you. I would suggest leaving the Plateau via Teleport at the end."

"It's too busy here, right?"

Lance gave Danny an appreciative nod. "Too many Trainers around, and any attempts at capturing would be done by a smaller group of four people maximum. More would draw undue attention, considering stealth is their chief weapon."

"Why's that?"

"They need to stop us from getting Pokémon out," Max told Danny. "Or block Teleport somehow., and there aren't a lot of tricks for that. So they want stealth and surprise."

"The intersection of Pokémon known to learn both Teleport and Imprison extends to two families, and Mean Look and its cousins are markedly less effective on both humans and trained Pokémon," Lance half-explained, half-said. "Just be careful if they have a gardevoir, gallade, or beyeehem. The others shouldn't have the power to restrain either of your Teleport-capable Pokémon."

Privately, Danny felt they'd probably need two to stop Max's gardevoir. "So they want to get us while we're sleeping or something."

"It is the most logical time, and so there are always a few G-men or sympathetic police in your hotel," Lance told them. "Nothing is impossible, of course, but it would be very hard to get past that and the Pokémon you're technically not allowed to have out at night."

Danny fought the blush, recognising that Lance was commending them for doing that. "Didn't even realise we weren't supposed to," he said, looking at the table between them. "Just been doing it so much that it's habit."

"A good habit to have in your situation."

"Er… Sorry if I'm rude, but… Why do you care so much?" Max asked, tensing in his chair when Lance turned a piercing gaze on him. "It just… Seems a bit too much."

Danny was certain Max had gone too far, but then, Lance's gaze turned softer. "I convinced Reginald to let you be our eyes and ears in Kalos last year. I told you this," the Dragon Trainer said, inclining his head towards Max. "More recently, I asked one of our risk analysts to take your actions out of the equation in Kalos. The first two events would be roughly the same – Professor Sycamore is a strong battler when pressed – but given how yveltal was awakened… I know it's been mentioned before, but you saved countless lives."

"But wasn't it my Mega Evolving manectric that awakened yveltal?"

"True," Lance agreed. "But that was only the final spark and it would have happened regardless that afternoon, even within an hour of it actually happening. The other attacks would not make sense otherwise." The man steepled his fingers, calmly looking at each of them in turn. "We actually think Durocor was more important than you might think at first glance. What happens if you're not there?" He gave them only a few seconds to think. "Twelve Mega Stones to siphon energy off of, instead of three. The machine was destroyed in the battle Diantha had with Lysandre, and its inner workings aren't known, but Ken – the analyst – and I agreed that quadrupling its potential output was probably not good."

"It could've exploded."

"Team Flare was a bit more meticulous and intelligent than the average Team Rocket member trying to stir up trouble here in Kanto, sadly. A hard drive survived, with descriptions of how they triple checked everything before hooking even a single Mega Stone up to the machine. Infinitely more competent than Magma and Aqua as well." Lance took a sip of his drink, reminding Danny that he had one as well. The marshmallow had vanished. "I don't know about you, but I prefer my world domination plotters incompetent."

The dry delivery was enough to make Danny crack a smile, and Max nearly snorted chocolate out of the glass. "So… What you're saying is that we did good?" Danny ventured after he'd found the liquid to be at the perfect drinking temperature.

"You did good in the same way I'm an above-average Trainer," Lance replied deadpan. "If you don't go into the café with the Kalos Gym Leader, we lose valuable time warning people in Geosenge. If you don't get the prophecy told to you, there wouldn't have been a plan in place. Internal moles made the police estimation of Team Flare's strength and progress off by a lot. And perhaps it was right place and right time, but when we're talking about Legendaries rampaging, I will gladly take any little advantage I can get."

Those were words Danny could very much get behind.

 **~~§~~§~~**

After the day's practice was done, Max, Danny, and Ash went their own ways. Danny was going to help Linda and Alice with something cooking-related; Max hadn't caught what exactly, and Ash was off to get his Pokémon healed.

And Max was off to find Evan. His cousin occasionally showed up at the practice, just as a spectator, but he hadn't today, and Max did want to ask him something after Danny had said something the night before.

The hostel Evan was staying in was fairly close to their own hotel, just a bit further out from the stadiums. Apparently, he had a room to himself after his earlier room mate had left the day before yesterday; something that Max didn't understand. If you went to a tournament, why wouldn't you stay until the end and watch all of it? From what Evan had said, it hadn't been some kind of emergency.

The receptionist was fine with waiving Max through to his cousin's room after confirming that he was still inside. The door was ajar just a bit, but when Max walked in, there was no sign of his cousin whatsoever. There was a very messy bed, and a few things strewn across the room, but no sign of Evan whatsoever.

Before he started figuring out where Evan could be, the door creaked open again, and after swivelling around, Max and Evan looked at each other. His cousin looked surprised to see him, but it didn't last long. "Morning Max."

Max glanced over at the digital clock on the wall. 11:57. Technically correct. "Dare I ask how long you've been out of bed?" he said as Evan dropped a towel in the hamper.

The younger boy also glanced at the clock. "'bout half an hour." He shrugged as he went for his bag, fishing out a comb and a container of something. Wax? "Best fucking sleep I had in a week and a half. He snored and he got up at dawn."

Any further explanation wasn't forthcoming as Evan took a small mirror and started styling the front of his hair. Max waited for him to finish it. "All this time, you came to us because you were awake anyway, and not because I'm your cousin that you wanted to spend time with?" How did Gregory put it again? Oh, right. "I'm wounded, Evan."

"Sure you are," Evan shot back flatly. "Shorty."

After having the term thrown at him multiple times a day for the last week and a half, Max didn't even care any longer. It was who Evan was, and while it was worse than it had been in the airport, it never sounded like it was an insult.

And the constant swearing was good for getting Danny a bit riled up. That was always a good thing in Max's book.

"What did you think of your first ever League you've been to?" Max asked as they both sat down: he in a chair, Evan against the bed. "As good as you hoped?"

"I'm going to be in the next one," Evan replied confidently. "Shouldn't be a problem to get eight badges. Not with poochyena and tentacool and butterfree by my side."

Someone was confident. "I'd skip Pewter Gym for now," Max advised him. "Poochyena and butterfree are terrible against Rock-types. Cerulean is much better to start."

For a moment, Evan looked like he wanted to protest, but then he looked like he thought better of it. "Damn, you're right. Suppose I should listen to my elders." Poochyena came out, immediately looking at Max as the Dark-type picked up on the suppressed laugh. "You don't know anything that'd help him beat Brock?"

The Bite Pokémon's tail wagged as Evan's fingers buried themselves in fur. "iron Tail is a start. I think mightyena can learn Ice Fang too, but that's probably going to be a while." Max left his chair, sitting down on the ground instead and tapping the wooden floor. Poochyena, after one look at his Trainer, came over. "Danny said you found him just outside Pallet?"

"Yeah. He was..."

"Liar," Max interrupted Evan, and he felt poochyena tense under his fingers. A quick scratch hopefully reassured the canine. "There aren't any wild poochyena or mightyena around Pallet. I asked Ash's Mum, and she told me that. You got him in Hoenn." He sighed. "Please tell me you didn't go out onto Route 121 to capture him without a Pokémon of your own."

"I didn't do that, idiot," Evan replied. "I'm not stupid. I know what can happen to kids who do that. And you're one to talk."

Max ignored that. "So, who caught it for you? Can't be your parents..."

There was a stare-off, but Max was experienced after travelling with Danny for two years and Evan quickly gave in. "A friend, okay? Poochyena was his Pokémon first, and a couple days before I left, he gave him to me."

That was not what Max had expected. "Just outright gave? As a birthday gift?"

"Yeah. What about it?" Evan challenged, and poochyena gave a warning bark as well, though he did lean into the renewed scratches as well.

Max shrugged as best he could with one hand stuck on placating a canine Pokémon. "Nothing, really. You must be good friends. Poochyena are common, sure, but..."

Anything more he wanted to say was interrupted by the mother of all stomach growling from Evan. Poochyena shot out from under Max's hand, going to sniff at Evan and seemingly finding nothing. "You're cool with it?" Evan asked, sounding surprised, and blushing a tiny bit. "Even if..."

"I lied to my parents for years," Max replied, and that caused a mouth to fall open. "I'll tell ya a bit of it over lunch." He rose. "Put on some shoes and we'll go grab some."

Another rumble punctuated the fact that Evan probably hadn't eaten anything since the dinner the night before, and maybe a small snack. "I could eat a fucking ponyta, it feels like."

Judging by the way Evan devoured his food half an hour later, Max thought he really hadn't been lying about that.

 **~~§~~§~~**

All around them, people were busy chattering about what they had just seen, and Max felt more than a bit smug at having been correct on all of the predictions he'd made earlier that day while doing the pre-battle preparation. Leon had progressed steadily, every time with a line-up that changed to match the opponent's strengths, which had told Max that he did a lot of research into his opponent.

As Danny was fond of pointing out, every pattern could be exploited.

Of course, pikachu and charizard had nearly revolted when Max had suggested not bringing them to the battle, but after seeing an Alolan golem, a jolteon, and a kommo-o over the course of the battle, pikachu had probably already agreed that it wasn't his fight: they all resisted electricity in some way or shape. There had also been a blindingly fast aegislash that had pushed absol to having to use a barrage of Future Sights at strange intervals; at one point having to take a Sacred Sword to the flank just to land the attack, and Max already knew he and Danny both would be re-watching that bit carefully at some point. He for what to do with aegislash should doublade want to evolve, and Danny to check out the balance between offence and defence.

Ash had won 6-4 in the end, though, with a set of Leech Seeds bulbasaur set up early proving to be too much for the kommo-o while it was off brawling with heracross later.

"How sure were ya that Ash'd win?" Alice asked from beside him, and Max saw Linda and Evan both look at him and Danny. "Coz it looked like he was never in trouble."

Max could see Evan wanting to disagree, but a shake shut his cousin up before starting. "Starting like that with weavile just taking that golem out against type… Pretty sure. Even after absol only took aegislash out." That Retaliate move packed a punch on a staraptor.

"I can't be the only one wonderin' how good you'd do against Leon," Linda said, and both Alice and Evan nodded as she continued. "I mean, you told us you had a good battle against Ash down there but lost, and Ash said it was 6-4 for him both times, so… You should be pretty good against Leon too, right?"

Max hadn't known Ash had told the girls. Still, he shook his head in the negative. "Nah. Leon's stronger I had the advantage of knowing how Ash thinks, so it made countering a lot easier for me." There was movement down on the field as a podium was brought out. "We'll talk details later, okay?"

About three quarters of an hour later, and a quick Teleport out to avoid the masses who wanted a picture with the new Indigo Champion, the six of them were in front of a restaurant they'd made reservations at for after the final. It was pretty expensive, Max knew, and wanting a private room made it a bit more expensive still, but if there ever was a time to go there, it was after a second title in under two years for Ash.

"Congratulations are in order, I see," the head waiter greeted the group as they entered. "This way."

The table had been set already for eight, which made Max realise he probably should've tried to find Delia or Professor Oak, who would also join them. He turned back around, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. "Mum and Professor Oak will come later," Ash said as the others looked at the two of them. "Mum said something about not wanting to listen to talk about the final, so they're walking here instead of going the fast way."

That worked, and all of them sat down at the table, two spots to Ash's left open for the missing adults. Some simple rolls were already present in a basket, and most of them grabbed one while they pored over the menu and talked about the final. Ash was more than happy to explain his strategies to a slightly starstruck Evan and a less starstruck-but-more-curious Linda.

Eventually, the talk turned to what everyone was going to do now that the tournament was over, and five teenagers all turned to look at Ash. "Why is it always me first?" he complained half-heartedly, to amusement from the others. "Like last time, a bit of a holiday. Mum's arranged for time off, and we're going to Alola. Apparently Professor Oak has a cousin there, and he's going to give us a tour."

A shared look between the two of them told Max that Ash was hoping that this time, his holiday didn't include having to storm a secret laboratory, but with Ash's luck, that was still an option.

Evan was staying in Kanto, sounding invigorated and just a bit boastful that he'd be able to do the Gym Challenge in the seven-and-a-half months left until the next version. It got him a few teases about being the little cousin looking to follow in Max's footsteps from Linda, and that had actually shut Evan up completely for a bit.

"We're goin' to Sinnoh," Linda told them after that had happened. "Been buyin' all sorts of winter gear for a bit already and it's supposed to have some really rare Ground-types too, so that's all fine for me." They laughed a bit at that. Over half of Linda's team now consisted of Ground-types, and she'd even traded for a strange Alolan Pokémon while she had been back home in Unova. A sandcastle Pokémon, of all things. "Alice is going to go for the Grand Festival there too, and that's February next year, so we'll be there for a while. I'm not sure which Conference I'm goin' ta end up in, though. One after next is a couple months before I turn 16."

Left unsaid was that Linda probably wasn't going to get an extension. She wasn't a bad Trainer by any stretch: she got to the round of 16 with a bit of luck here, but Unovan extensions were as bad as Kalosian ones were. It made sense, Max knew, because all of the money was needed to rebuild the country. Didn't mean any of them liked it.

"And you know where we're going. Any places in Johto really worth visiting?" Danny asked after Ash had told Linda a few things about Sinnoh. "Since you're doing tour guides apparent – hey!"

The shout was caused by pikachu, who jumped onto Ash's shoulder looking proud of what he'd done and pulling down one lower eyelid and sticking out his tongue. Laughter followed the mouse's antics, including Danny's own. "The Whirl Islands are pretty fun, but you told me you weren't going there, so… Don't have too much." A door opened. "Professor Oak? What are some places in Johto that Max and Danny should really visit?"

If the Professor was surprised at being asked a question the moment he walked in, he didn't show it. "Hm, I'd say the old imperial era buildings in Ecruteak and the forest north of there are memorable for me."

It took Max a moment to link the forest to one of Ash's other adventures, but he didn't really understand why the Professor liked the old district of Ecruteak so much, and he voiced that question.

"Well, it's personal, of course, but I did propose to my wife there."

Max had to admit, that reason to like a place was pretty good.

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _ **Ketchum wins second League**_

 _In a scintillating final that had everyone on the edges of their seat, Ash Ketchum, 18 of Pallet Town, was able to take his second League title in under two years. His opponent, Leon Lua, 21 of Hau'oli City in Alola, seemingly came prepared to face Ketchum's well-known heavy hitters, bringing out several Pokémon strong against the pikachu and charizard that are Ketchum's trademark. The Mega Evolved absol was also countered heavily by Lua's aegislash and a staraptor avenging its fallen ally, but otherwise, Ketchum's line-up was devoid of some of his standard picks. This proved to be Lua's downfall as a surprisingly strong bulbasaur took down a jolteon before Leech Seeding the Alolan's last Pokémon: a kommo-o._

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Oops, Ash did it again. Decided that writing a League without showing a single battle was a good way of cutting chaff. This was originally two chapters in earlier plans, but plans do change. Don't worry, there will be plenty of battling in the future.

If I don't reshuffle my plot again. **  
**


	10. A Normal Life

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 9: A Normal Life**

The streets were empty, abandoned, dim but not dark. Sunrise felt close, hints of rosy light in the sky. Not a sound could be heard as Max walked roads he knew, past houses he had seen before.

He found himself up high, looking into the distance, before long. It was deathly quiet; the only sounds ones that Max made himself. Breathing, shuffling, tapping. Not even Pokémon were there in his high place. Sleeping, maybe. It made everything unnaturally peaceful, but that wasn't bad. Peace was good; Max had had too little of it anyway.

In the far distance, a familiar mountain rose. A mountain he had climbed; reluctance the foremost memory. A Pokémon had been caught there for him. Sweet, prim, calculatedly aloof, loyal: vulpix was all of those and more.

As Max looked, a sharp flash atop Mt. Pyre blinded him. Spots remained, rapid blinking not enough to remove them, but between the black and dark, something else appeared.

Fire. A red-orange-yellow inferno rolled down the mountain. Water did not stop it; and suddenly, Route 121 was ablaze. Route 123 followed, but it did not stop the flames. The sea _burned_ with orange and blue as they expanded lightning-fast.

He couldn't move. His legs were stuck in place; a look down not revealing anything. He tried for his Pokémon, but there were no balls on his belt; no way to do anything as fire surged forward, reaching Lilycove's suburbs and halting.

And forming a familiar silhouette before launching itself at Max.

He screamed.

Max gasped for fresh air; his throat raw and sore, his legs tangled in something. A moment later, Pokémon opened the tent flap: dusclops holding flame nearby, causing him to flinch, recoil, stagger, fall back into cloth. An inferno played out in his mind; flames licking at his body…

"It's okay, it's okay," he heard Danny say. There was a hand near his left knee, on the sleeping bag. "It wasn't real. I'm here. You're safe."

The hand moved, reaching out, and Max took it blindly. It was real; calming, grounding, and he opened his eyes. Danny was there; a torch lying on cloth somewhere, providing unnatural light to see by. He couldn't see details; not without glasses, but he could guess the expression as realisation flooded in. "Hate my mind," he muttered. He flailed around for water, and a leafy hand gave a bottle. "Thanks, sceptile."

The water was almost icy, painfully cold in his throat, waking him up further. He shook his head, focusing on Danny after that. "Same dream?"

"Close enough," Max returned; words a lot less painful to get out. "Lilycove now. Saw fire start this time. Mt. Pyre." He shook his head, reaching down to his sleeping bag and unzipping the lower half. "I need air."

"It's half past four," Danny replied, patting the ground where Max suspected the boy's watch to be. "You sure you want to?"

It had happened before, and that time, Max hadn't been able to fall back asleep. "Where's the Center? Six miles or so?"

A shrug. "Something like that." The older teenager sighed. "A nap after lunch it is."

"You don't…"

"I do," Danny interrupted, suddenly grabbing Max by his wrist. "This is the third time in six weeks, Max, and the other two times, you once passed out while we were training and the other time, you nearly fell asleep in Pokémon poop." Max blushed as he remembered _that._ "'sides, you think I can sleep after that scream you did?"

Oh, right. Something had woken Danny up, and Max remembered screaming as the fire engulfed him. He fought another round of blushing; somewhat successfully. "How bad was it?"

"Might be a couple of people back in Ecruteak who didn't hear you."

The temptation for Max to throw a pillow at Danny was only barely quashed, but even as he did so, Max realised that had been Danny's goal. To make him laugh or annoyed or anything that wasn't thinking about the dream.

He wasn't sure how well it worked, but it made him feel all the better that they were travelling together.

 **~~§~~§~~**

A great Protect by gulpin blocked the zangoose's Slash, not even causing a shimmer in the shield. Zangoose cried out in annoyance, and it waved the paw that had struck the shield in pain.

That was a mistake, Max knew, and Danny immediately pressed the advantage. A heave produced a wave of spewed acid; Gastro Acid, to be precise, and far too much of it got into the mouth of the white Pokémon. Zangoose tried to spit it out, but it was already too late; Gastro Acid worked fast and while it wouldn't seep into fur effectively, ingesting it was a certain way to overwhelm the natural immunity to poisons that zangoose had.

The acid worked by tricking the immune system and forcing that to spend all of its time dealing with the liquid's effects. The result was that most Abilities based around an immunity of some kind, like zangoose's, or like vulpix's Flash Fire, were temporarily disabled.

The Poison Gas went out, and from there, it was only a matter of time until gulpin won. Max had been surprised when Danny had sent the round Pokémon out at a disadvantage, but between Rollout, zangoose already a bit beaten up by diggersby, and now this trick, it was working out.

And it didn't matter anyway, because Danny was going to end up second in his group regardless of the result.

They were in a small town on the northern slopes of Mount Mortar, participating in a seasonal tournament to celebrate a first harvest or something. Sali Town was definitely off the beaten path, but after they'd checked in Ecruteak, Max and Danny had decided to go here for the tournament. They weren't the only outsiders, but it was definitely a minority they belonged to.

Danny won, making sure that he at least got that going, but only the four that had won a group would continue to compete for prizes. Max had finished second as well; falling afoul of a rule that said that, in the case of a tie, head to head results would make the difference. He had lost only to a ruthless nidoking, whose old Trainer had then proceeded to talk strategy with Max until their next match an hour later.

Losing out because of that was annoying, but it was fine. The result was good, the tournament was fun, and the training was useful. He couldn't want for more.

"That was almost Ash-like," Max told Danny when the taller teenager walked over, sweat on his brow from the heavy sun: surprisingly so for an afternoon in the second week of May. "You know only a few Pokémon are immune to poison, right? If they aren't Poison-type to start with."

The look he got spelled out that yes, Danny knew. "It didn't matter anyway," he said, shrugging. "'sides, it's not often I get to use Gastro Acid outside of doubles training. It's fun to remove strengths like that."

That, Max had to agree with wholeheartedly. "You rooting for the one that beat you?"

"Nobody beat me," Danny returned, and the two exchanged stuck-out-tongues; Danny's playful, Max's exasperated. It was technically true: Danny had drawn twice thanks to Destiny Bond; one his, one not, but the winner in the group had only tied with Danny. "He's good, but your opponent's got a good chance as well. Don't think the other two have it in them to defeat either."

Max hadn't seen as many matches as Danny had, but what he had seen agreed with that. "You think we could've beat one of them?" he asked as he picked at a scab on his arm; the result of gravel shifting and Max scraping the arm against rock.

Danny delved into deep thought for a moment, remembering what he had seen, probably. "One of them for sure. The other might be easier for you than for me." Danny smiled wryly. "You're probably better at beating that ditto."

Probably true, Max had to admit. Training and using a ditto in combat was one of the most difficult challenges for a Trainer to master, and anyone using one would have a ton of Pokémon knowledge to draw on; something Max was usually better at than Danny. Not by much, and both of them were just way better than nearly everyone else out there, but Max was also _faster_ , which was important in battles. "The other Pokémon of hers I saw weren't that good. She's relying on the ditto, a lot."

"If it works, don't knock it."

Truth, Max admitted, but it still wasn't a surprise when the old man beat the ditto handily, coming out strong and then sending out a tangrowth that managed to poison the ditto first. He also won the finals, but that could have gone either way.

The Pokémon Center was fairly busy, but Nurse Joy had thought ahead, telling everyone who had participated in the tournament to grab a tray, write down their name on a piece of taped-on paper, and then just leave the full trays at the desk, where they were picked up to let the Pokémon be healed. "Good idea," Danny opined as they headed back to their room, mostly to go and have a shower before dinner. "Why don't they do this every time there's a tournament?"

"Beats me," Max replied honestly. "Maybe if one of the Pokémon needs special help? Like a broken wing or something."

"Could still just tell Nurse Joy."

Max fumbled with the pocket containing the key to their room. The cloth had wrapped around the metal. Somehow. "That's true." He opened the door, and immediately regretted the decision to not open a window that morning. "How did it get so warm in here? There's an entire mountain to the south!"

Danny just laughed, heading left to their beds while Max went over to the window. "There's a letter here for you," he said as Max reached over the desk to open the window. "Three guesses who it's from, first two don't count." He threw it over. "I'll take the shower first. I smell more than you anyway."

A few minutes later, Max had abandoned their room for a spot in the cafeteria. He opened the letter, and put it down beside his fizzy drink, smoothing the folded paper and making sure it stayed flat and put.

 _Hey Max!_

 _Guess what! Vulpix made Confuse Ray work. It took a lot of practice to get it to work on other Pokémon at first. Every time he used it on me, everything went weird for a minute or two, but I guess Pokémon really are better against stuff like that. Thanks for the tip! It actually helped me, too: there was this sneaky Ghost Pokémon trying to sneak up on me, but because I've been confused so often I knew to call for help. Lucky, right?_

 _Maël and I talked last week, and Geosenge is mostly normal again. They're saying there's going to be some kind of statue to remember the dead near the edge of town. Near where you beat yveltal. It's probably not going to be done for a while, but promise you'll come back and check it out when it is?_

Max paused, spotting the letter continuing with a different colour ink below. A chuckle escaped him, and he took a moment to drink. Hugo often did that, being distracted by something and then picking it up later that day.

 _So something just happened. There is this girl in the Pokémon Center I'm staying in, and she suddenly just fell forward out of nowhere. She just went limp and she nearly hit her head on a chair, but kirlia was out. She was so fast, stopping the girl from falling forward. It was some kind of epilepsy, and the girl said she hadn't had an attack like that in years. She thanked me for helping her, we got to talking, and now we're going to her home town together so she can get checked in the hospital. It's the next city with a Gym, so it's not a problem, but I've never travelled together with anyone. And she's a girl, too. That's kind of weird._

 _Going to stop now, we're leaving tomorrow, and I'm yawning like crazy. Kirlia's already asleep on her pillow, too. Hope everything's going okay in Johto!_

 _Hugo_

The chuckle turned into a full smile and a bit of wonder at how Hugo had managed to find himself a travelling partner while saving someone from hurting herself. It was a bit more normal than how Ash had started travelling with Misty and May, but that wasn't saying much. The letter was about a week old now, so they'd probably reached that city, and for a moment, he wanted to start writing a response.

Then he caught a whiff of his armpits and that went out the window. It'd have to wait.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Hiking around the foothills of Mount Mortar was tiring, but so much easier to do with Pokémon to help out after the day's walking was done. Last time they'd been out camping in areas this rocky, the most help they had were some of Ash's Pokémon at best, and they weren't as useful for this. Now, Danny realised as he watched gardevoir haul suitable rocks over to secure their tent with, it was a lot easier. The Psychic-type was also holding the tent in place as well, just because he could.

Fairly strong winds – gales up to forty miles an hour – were predicted overnight, and while two teenagers and two packs inside would probably hold the tent down just fine, they weren't going to take the risk. The ground was way hard to sink pegs into, so they were just going to use overlarge stones to make sure the wind wouldn't send them flying overnight.

Perhaps it was a mistake, being this high up, but it was beautiful up here too, with lots of great pictures to take. Danny had already shot at least a dozen that day, though it was getting pretty dark now, so it'd probably stay that way.

He looked off to the side, seeing Max wrangle with a petulant shelgon while dinner was stewing. The dragon didn't like it when someone touched the ridges on his shell, and today was worse than usual: the desire to not have that obviously at odds with the respect and love he felt towards Max.

If Danny knew Max, there were soothing words being whispered, but being upwind and a fair distance away, he wasn't able to hear it through the wind hitting the mountain. He turned back to look at the tent, finding that the last stone had been placed down. "Looks good, gardevoir," Danny told the humanoid Pokémon, walking around their cover and testing if one stone wasn't easily dislodged before stopping his tests. They looked like each weighed half as much as he did; a casual tug wouldn't move them. "Was it easier to hold both tent and stone this time?"

The Psychic-type didn't reply telepathically, to Danny's minor relief. He'd gotten a lot better at it, being able to easily communicate in full sentences, but volume control was an ongoing problem. Instead, a not-quite solemn nod was the answer, and it told Danny more than enough.

They went and joined Max, Danny walking, the gardevoir practising short-range Teleports, and the older teenager noticed a radio softly playing something twice as old as they were nearby. "Found the old people's station?" he teased as shelgon complained. "I think shelgon's objecting."

"It's the only thing that's not static. Mountain's not helping," Max replied, concentrating on using the hard and thin brush to scrub the dragon skin. "Just one more, shelgon. You can do it."

He could, but there was obvious relief when the mid-stage Pokémon waddled away, a minute or so later. "Fussy, isn't he?"

"The two on the side grow into the wings," Max said as he put the brush back in the grooming kit. "They're pretty sensitive to small things like this."

"Not usable in battle, then?" Danny said, checking the food. It needed a few minutes more, and from the taste of it, maybe some seasoning.

Max shook his head. "You don't break out in laughter when there's water flowing down your sides in the shower, but tickling would do that."

Danny hadn't thought of it that way, but the analogy made a lot of sense now that it had been pointed out.

They busied themselves with fixing dinner; Danny taking over cooking duties and Max making sure their Pokémon got food as well. Out here, they could send out every Pokémon they could ever want to, and they were taking every opportunity to do that.

One of them wasn't used to it yet, though. Danny's new houndour – caught two weeks ago just south of Ecruteak – hadn't yet gotten used to the fact that food was easily available instead of having to be hunted for. They had found her injured in the grass with one immediately apparent reason for it: a piece of antler had pierced one of her paws. Grazes and cuts had covered the Dark-type's body, making both of them guess that she had lost a fight a while before the boys found her.

It had taken some quick talking, half a dozen Protects – some needed, some not – and the promise that she could just be released if she wanted to for the smart canine to let herself be talked into a pokéball. It was the fastest way for her to get medical help after all: a quick call to Pallet Town and someone would make sure it happened. They'd found out it was actually a fairly common occurrence for the lab to get one of those calls, averaging about four a week and getting in about triple that in Pokémon that needed healing sooner rather than later.

It wouldn't have stopped them from helping the houndour if she had refused, and Danny had been more than willing to carry houndour the distance to the nearest Pokémon Center, but this was easier.

Once healed, she'd shown her thanks by licking both of them until they wanted to take another shower, and she'd chosen Danny as her Trainer, even thought it had been one of Max's pokéballs that had done the capturing.

Two weeks on, she was fitting in nicely, except for the food. They were giving it to her in portions for now, and she was trying, but three or four years of habits – as estimated by one of the assistants in Pallet – were hard to break.

Just after dinner was done, the evening news came on the radio, and Danny tuned in to that. There was some domestic news first: some famous actor had died suddenly, but he couldn't put a face to the name; an initiative to introduce Alolan Pokémon to the Safari Zone had started; and the winner of the Johto Grand Festival had been honoured in his home town. "Foreign news. First Minister Santi of Hoenn today announced..."

Danny looked up and saw Max listening intently, his mood visibly worsening as the news was read.

On account of the still-ongoing attacks, Mt. Pyre had been closed to the public for safety's sake. A predictable set of Gym Leaders and Elite Four members were on record as opposing it, but with how much the government had done to restrict Dark, Ghost, and Psychic-types, it would have been more surprising if those five hadn't been on record. The only odd one out was LeeAnn, but she was from around there, so maybe that was something regional?

As usual whenever nearly anything from Hoenn came on the news these days, Max looked like he wanted to find whoever was responsible and throw them in prison single-handedly. Most Pokémon picked up on it, reacting in predictable ways: clefairy and shelgon drew closer to Max, manectric nuzzled her snout into Max's thigh, and sceptile's movements as he ate dinner became terse.

A whine from nearby made Danny look down, and he spotted a confused houndour. "It's a long story, houndour," Danny said, putting his half-empty bowl on his lap and using his now free hand to look for the spot that the Dark-type really liked under her chin. A flare-up of heat under his fingers told him he'd found it a moment later. "I'll tell you after you had your dinner."

The Dark-type suddenly left, moving over to where the Pokémon were eating, and then returning with her own bowl in her mouth, offering it to Danny, tail wagging and eyes attempting to do a puppy impression. She was pretty bad at that, though.

"You want me to tell it?" Max asked suddenly, and when Danny looked up, he noticed Max half-smiling at the Dark-type's antics. A small smile, sure, but still a smile. It widened after houndour went over to him, bowl and wagging tail and all. "I'm going to take that as a yes."

"We'll eat dinner first, then you get your second portion, and then we'll go talk about it," Danny told houndour. Ears drooped, but something told him it was far more playful than anything else. "Patience is a virtue, you know that."

She did, but the derisive snort said loud and clear that she didn't agree with the idea.

 **~~§~~§~~**

"And done," Serena told Danny and Max as she pressed 'Send'. Poliwhirl's pokéball vanished, and a little moving ball in the screen showed that the Water-type was on her way to her Trainer again. "Thanks again for letting me borrow her. And don't give me that answer!"

Max feigned a sheepish look on the other end, but Serena knew better. "What are you going to use Rain Dance for? Most of your team's good with sun in Doubles."

"Actually, can't you do something around weather switching?" Danny chimed in from the side. "Cherrim and ducklett, and change Weather Ball around a bit? Catch everyone off-guard."

"That is… That's brilliant!" Serena exclaimed in response. "I wanted to teach ducklett Rain Dance because it's a good way to get her in her element, but that was only alone or maybe with altaria. How do you come up with all those ideas?"

"You know him," Max said while Danny preened. "It's instinctive." More preening. "Too bad you couldn't convince Morty to make it two on two."

Serena giggled, having been told the story of the open-minded and laid-back Gym Leader. "So, you're… Near Mahogany now, right?"

Danny nodded. "One day away probably, but Max wanted poliwhirl back, so we're spending the night here."

"I guessed that you would be leaving for your next Contest tomorrow," Max said. "You've been in Saffron for a week now, right? And the Contest was yesterday? How'd it go?"

With a flourish, Serena produced the case she had bought to put her ribbons in. It was a nice cream, with stickers of her five Pokémon on it. "Look for yourself," she said, opening it and revealing the quartet of ribbons inside; only the middle slot left open because it looked better that way. "Braixen's Fire Spin and Psybeam got me fourth place in the Appeals, and I had a bit of luck in the semi-finals. Opponent was using a green wormadam that knew Attract."

That caused both of them to laugh. "Jackpot," Max said, snapping his fingers. "Four already and still two months left. That's pretty good. Told you you'd make a good Coordinator."

"Well, not having to worry about stuff like Team Flare makes things easy. And I don't have to wait for you to do Gym Battles either," Serena retorted. It was always good when they did stuff like this. "I got beat really hard the one before last, but it was fine. The woman who beat me was just better. Her pidgeot was amazing in the air."

"If she had red hair and is from Pewter, you just lost to the Grand Festival winner of nearly three years ago," Max told her. "You already found out about it?"

"Old Grand Festival winners get special introductions, or maybe that was just there," Serena said. "Won't deny I wasn't a bit nervous, but after hanging out with you crazies..." She gave them a smile, and the boys reacted as expected. "Anyway, now that we're talking… Anything you want to recommend near Lavender Town, Max? Apart from the Battle Dome."

"There's supposed to be this haunted building in Lavender," Max said. "I kind of wanted to see it when I was with Ash and Brock, but they weren't too eager to go there and May was scared out of her mind at even thinking of going there. Of course," he added. "And I'm still going to say the Battle Dome because the guy in charge is very showy. Could learn a thing or two if there's someone on the circuit."

Oh, right, that was a question that she had. "How many are invited anyway? I know Ash is one of the last ones to complete it, but I can't find anything else."

Max shrugged, raising his hands. "Dunno either. Maybe thirty people get invited every year, and most of them stop after one or two? I could try to ask Ash if he knows."

Serena waved the offer away. "Nah. Was just wondering." An idea popped into her mind. "You're probably going to be two of them if you do well in the Silver Conference."

That didn't catch Max off-guard, though Danny was a bit surprised. "Yeah," Max said, grinning a bit. "That'd be awesome. I'd be down for that, definitely."

"Of course you are," Serena and Danny said simultaneously, and the three of them burst into laughter at the synchronicity.

 **~~§~~§~~**

There were advantages to arriving a day or two early at scientific conferences. Having time to prepare for whatever was to be presented was one of them, as well as room for transportation to not work for some reason. Personally, Oak also rather liked that he would have an extra day to recover from the flight, but that was mostly related to his taking of medicine against airsickness: it gave him more time to recover from the pills' effects, should there be any.

This time, it seemed he had lucked out, apart from drowsiness while on the plane. That was long past now, and as he briskly walked down the carpeted hallway of the Snowpoint City hotel, Oak fingered a foreign pokéball in his coat. An Ultra Ball, because of course his grandson would spend money on frivolous things like that for all of his Pokémon, but that mattered little.

He found the room he was looking for, and he knocked thrice, firmly.

Maxim Birch opened the door, barely missing a beat as he saw who was at his door at ten at night. He stepped out without a word, locking the door behind him. "Whereto?

Acuity Lakefront was quiescent in the light of the full moon. It was surprisingly cool for a mid-May evening, but they were as northerly as the Home Regions went, and at slight altitude. Oak had come prepared. "This should stop anyone from overhearing us."

Birch laughed mirthlessly. "I wish we didn't need to take these precautions, but that, like other wishes I have, seems to be a dream now." The taller Professor looked over at the borrowed alakazam. "I assume a barrier is well within your capabilities?"

The answer was obvious. "I imagine it is liberating to be out of Hoenn, even for a moment," Oak observed neutrally. "I know you can't say it in calls, but how are you, Maxim?"

If the other Professor was surprised by the sudden use of his first name, he didn't show it. "There is more and more pressure on me and mine every week," he said as he bent down to grab a handful of grass, starting to fiddle with the small blades. "Mostly carrots: promises of grants if we would do research into certain Pokémon types. We've rejected every one so far, the last few unanimously."

"Few things are more annoying than interfering busybodies," Oak had to agree. No self-respecting scientist liked it when politicians ran roughshod over their area of expertise. "Do you expect them to switch to the stick?"

"Not without a catalyst of some kind. These requests are within the purview of the agencies asking for them," Birch told him. It was the same in Kanto, more or less. "And I fear it can't be long before that occurs. Festival season is upon us; even Ever Grande if they can somehow get their equipment there. Myriad targets, and of course, they are never noticed."

How deep did the corruption go, Oak had to wonder as well. "You know my laboratory is always open."

"I was thinking of asking Rowan the same, formally," Birch said, to Oak's surprise. "Image is important, and asking you for help after you helped my nephew and Max would not go over well. Speaking of… They're still doing their thing?"

Oak's answer was to produce a heavy envelope. Tracey had mentioned that he would be going to the conference, and not two hours later, his private email had been filled pictures of with teenagers and Pokémon in a forest Oak recognised very well. "It might not be safe to take these back to Hoenn," he warned as Birch opened the envelope. The light of the moon was enough to view the pictures; the top one showing two teenagers standing side by side with one arm each over the other's shoulder – helped by an off-screen Psychic-type providing Max with an invisible box to stand on, no doubt. "As far as I know, nobody has tried to get them back to Hoenn by force."

"Small blessings. Let's hope they have a normal journey and a normal life now. Or whatever passes for normal for them."

 **~~§~~§~~**

The Mahogany Gym was easy to find, but it looked very different from what the Trainer's Guide showed and what Ash had told them a while back. He certainly hadn't mentioned statues of piloswine and articuno out front. "Articuno, okay, I get, but piloswine? Starter, I guess?"

Max shrugged beside him as they opened the gate. "Probably. You think I can get some tips on raising swinub from him?"

"You sure can," a woman said from the side, and both of them turned to see an older woman, brown, curly hair with hints of grey walking up. "'n I recognise your faces. Here to make an appointment for a battle?"

It was the norm by now: every Gym Leader was following Falkner's example of wanting to gauge their strength first. "Told you we'd need to wait," Danny told Max, who had hoped it wasn't the case, but after four times that it had happened… The fifth seemed likely.

"It's not what you think. The freezing element in the arena was damaged an hour back, so we're out of a battlefield for now," the woman told them. "I should probably put a sign up or something, but we did call the Center to let the trainers know."

"We were out looking at the town first," Max said as they walked in the door, revealing a spacious lobby with parts sectioned off. "Renovations?"

"Uhuh. Spruce the place up a bit," the woman said. She walked to a standing desk and fished out an appointment book. "I don't think we're going to get this fixed today, 'n Pryce doesn't battle on Sundays. You two okay with Monday afternoon? Last battles before closing?"

It was a lot faster than Whitney and Morty had given them battles "Sounds fine, er… ma'am?"

"Call me Sheila," came the reply as she wrote down something in the book. "Actually… There's a school class coming in at two, 'n we don't have anything planned yet for that. Would you mind..."

"No," Danny replied. To his surprise, he'd really enjoyed the presentation back in November, despite the amount of children watching. "We've done that before, back in Hoenn." Max agreed as well. "Dunno about Max, but if they have questions, I'm fine with answering them as well."

He had expected to need to prod Max into agreeing, but a quick "Dito," surprised Danny. "How old is the group that's coming?"

"Ten 'n eleven year olds. They might have some good questions for ya!" Shelia said as she finished her writing with a flourish and a demonstrative putting down of the pen. "I'll send the teacher over to the Center so he knows if there's anything you don't want to talk about." She winked at them. "We might be rural, but I do watch the news."

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _We agree that closing Mt. Pyre in its entirety is a heavy-handed move, given the importance of the memorials inside. However, Ghost-types are capable of going invisible and moving through solid layers of mountain and concrete. We can detect the latter from afar with sensors, should they ever cross the Lilycove Inlet, but there is no protection for those caught inside. Hence, we opted for this, in the interest of public safety. As soon as the current crisis is resolved, we will immediately rescind these restrictions._

– First Minister Santi, on _Hoenn Tonight_

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Timeskip away, of about three months. Nothing much happened, and the few somewhat important things that did happen, like Danny catching himself a canine of his own, are touched upon either this or next chapter. Cutting out the filler arc, so to speak. **  
**


	11. Predicting The Future

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Predicting The Future**

It was pure coincidence that Max and Danny ran into the class that was going to be watching them, a few streets away from the Mahogany Gym. The teacher noticed them and waved the teenagers over to the other side of the road. They crossed without any problems, and excited chatter greeted them. "Great to see you," the thirty-something said. "Class, these are Danny," he said, instantly getting the attention and mostly silence from his pupils, "and Max. They're pretty skilled trainers, and you're going to be watching them battle with Pryce today."

"Not Danny Birch and Max Maple? The third and fourth place finishers in Kalos?" one boy exclaimed, and Max resisted the urge to snort. There was _always_ one of them that broke the silence, usually a boy too. Nor was he surprised that one of them had heard of their results. A girl near him yelped and a boy elbowed his way into view. "It is them!"

"Yes, Robert, it is," the teacher said sternly. "You know what you need to do."

The blonde boy blushed deeply, and he immediately turned to the girl he had shoved aside, apologising profusely. She seemingly accepted and turned her back on him afterwards.

The group started walking again, and Max and Danny fell in with the teacher at the rear. "I forgot to ask this yesterday," he said, "but which of you is going first?"

"I will," Max said. It was his turn after all. "We've been taking turns since we started out together. Except once."

"It's a Hoenn tradition that the eighth badge someone gets is a bit of a strange challenge," Danny picked it up, not even needing the teacher to ask. "Every Gym Leader has a different challenge. The one we faced put us together to fight a four-on-four with two of our Pokémon."

"Must be relatively new. Didn't have that when I was there." The teacher smiled at them. "Of course, that was seventeen years ago. Things change. Yes, Elise?"

A girl dropped back a bit. "Do you think girls can be good Trainers too?"

Max and Danny exchanged a short glance, but Max knew he was probably the better one for answering it. "Of course. It's not like boys are just better because we're boys," he told her. "In Ever Grande, we both got knocked out by a girl. Danny's opponent was a professional Trainer, too."

"We have two friends. Keith and Jane," Danny added as they stopped. The adults at the front of the group – probably a pair of parents or something – looked both ways before taking up position in the street, creating a path the children should cross in between. "They're pretty good Trainers too, and they travel together. And if you ask both of them, they'll tell you that Jane is the better Trainer of the two."

"But they're not as good as you are," came the reply, and Elise sounded certain of that. It was true, Max had to admit.

Max sighed. He hated that he had to do this. "You know May Maple?" he asked, hoping to get some recognition. He got none, meaning he had to explain. "She's a Coordinator, but don't let that fool you. I know she's beaten a few Trainers from the upper rounds in Ever Grande. She just likes Contests more than just battling."

"May Maple is Max's sister, and a top-class Coordinator," the teacher added. "And yes, Elise, Contests need a lot of skill with battles as well. Maybe even more than just going for Gyms. After all, you need to train to make your Pokémon be stylish and effective."

That pacified the girl, and she went back into the group; her pink backpack vanishing in the crowd. "Regular question?"

"Observant of you, Danny," came the commendation, making Max snort. Even when talking to teenagers not in his class, the man was a teacher through and through. "It's hard for the girls to have a role model here. Pryce has been the Gym Leader since before I was born, and the only other Gym Leaders that are a bit nearby are Morty and Claire, and she doesn't really count because of the Dragon Clan's position." The man sighed. "You can show them all examples, but it's not real enough for them."

It wasn't something Max was familiar with, what with Roxanne pretty close-by and knowing from five years of experience that girls could be just as good as boys. "Must be tough to teach them."

"Most of the more valuable lessons in life are hard to teach. It's why this job is both rewarding and annoying sometimes."

The rest of the walk to the Gym was mostly silent, or as silent as a class of pre-teens could be. Max wasn't stupid enough to think that he wouldn't have been just like them: Gym Battles weren't always open to the public.

Shelia awaited them, waving the class through as Max and Danny waited. "Right. Both of ya should know tha' Pryce does two aside. You can switch Pokémon, he can't. We'll also have a few questions in between the battles so we can add some more ice to the field if we need to."

"I'm not planning on using a Fire-type," Max offered cheekily. He'd seen the dewgong out in the back.

"Melting isn't the only problem," Shelia replied, recognising Max's statement for what it was and smiling. "Both of you are allowed to use Mega Evolution if you want to, but give me a sign beforehand so I can send out an extra jynx."

That seemed fair, and Max's heart soared with the thought of potentially being able to use manectric in her first Gym of the region. Danny probably still wouldn't use aggron, though, he figured; not after he had completely wrecked Whitney with it.

That had been slightly awkward after the battle, but she had given them permission… Max just hoped she had been able to find some dugtrio to help out with the meadow they had wrecked.

Somehow, Max wasn't surprised to see Danny head into the crowd of children, where he was immediately bombarded with questions. The older teenager liked being around others.

Five minutes later, Max palmed one pokéball, confident that the strategy they had come up with would work against most of the Ice-types that Pryce could send out. "Clefairy, it's your turn."

Glaceon was definitely vulnerable to their plan, and Max took a moment to quickly run through the things he knew about the Ice-type. Just Ice-type, which not a lot of Pokémon were: surprisingly sturdy if you didn't attack with an elemental weakness, if not great at dealing with things up close; and they were known for learning Mirror Coat.

He had no doubts that this one knew it as well, which would maybe even allow it to stand up against manectric if she or he weren't careful. That wasn't the problem, though: clefairy had other ways of beating the Ice-type.

In fact, it could be a big _help_ , Max realised.

There was one little tradition he always led with, and it wasn't any different this time. Glaceon launched an Ice Beam as clefairy started waggling her fingers, rapidly finding an attack and starting to glow a blue that was reflected in the clear ice underneath her.

The resultant explosion of what looked to be Psychic and Ice Beam tore at more than a few of the rocks in the middle of the arena, and the ice underneath definitely took a beating as well. Both Pokémon were completely unaffected except from some wind ruffling at them, but glaceon was the first to recover, launching an entirely predictable Hail.

Max knew Pryce knew clefairy could just be outright uncaring of the hailstones that fell, and it showed in the intensity of the weather, going for white-out conditions rather than the larger stones. There was loud complaining from the side as some of the children wanted to see the battle, but Max shut them out of his mind, focusing on the battle and countering the effects in front of him.

The smart idea would be to attack with something that was close to invisible in the conditions, which left Ice Beam or something more up close from the glaceon. Clefairy knew that as well, as she had hopped over to one of the nearby rocks, hiding behind it after using a microscopic application of Gravity on her feet to land on the ice. It was one of the reasons why he had chosen her to start out. "Lure glaceon in."

Clefairy's Disarming Voice was nothing more than a big sign that told glaceon where the Fairy-type was hiding. A short burst of frost came from the hailstorm ahead – right-hand side – but the Icy Wind did basically nothing to the hiding clefairy. A short burst of Ice Beam proved the same, and Max didn't see a third attack come, which led him to suspect the Ice-type was going for a different approach.

Quick Attack was one of the eevee line specialities, and glaceon approached from the direction clefairy wasn't expecting, which got her some time in the air, but that was all fine. a Disarming Voice went out even as she landed on her feet, and that prompted the Mirror Coat to come out. "Encore!"

With complete trust in Max, clefairy withstood the reflected attack, instead focusing on making sure glaceon was locked into using Mirror Coat and just that for the next half-minute or so. The Fresh Snow Pokémon hurried away as soon as the attack hit, but…

There was a huge sign in the snow as the Mirror Coat shone bright, like a lighthouse in fog. "Huh," Max wondered, before shaking his head. "You know what to do."

Clefairy did indeed, jumping on and off a rock, using her light frame and command over Gravity to close the distance far quicker than glaceon probably held possible. The beacon made it easy to locate Pryce's Pokémon, and it wasn't long before the helps came from the fog. It was only Doubleslap, but clefairy was good at using the attack. The nails on her hands helped as well: they were sharp as a razor right now.

"Metronome," Max ordered into the blizzard when he saw the light of Mirror Coat start to diminish, and a quick waggle turned into a spike of purple light in the fog. A loud yelp came, as did an Ice Beam that sent clefairy rocketing back. She landed near Max, but when she got up, she gave him a satisfied smile, as if to say mission accomplished.

Then she moved to get out of the way of an Icy Wind, avoiding most, and leaving Max to figure out what that little smile had meant exactly. He'd need to see glaceon, he supposed, and with clefairy once again hiding behind a rock, that would probably soon follow. "Ready Gravity."

When the blue-white Pokémon did come into view, Max's pink Pokémon was ready, and a purple-black dome overlaid that part of the arena. It forced glaceon to the ground, but the ice made it slide on, bowling clefairy over in a perfect strike, disrupting the field of increased gravity and sending both Pokémon away uncontrollably. Clefairy landed on her back somewhere off to the side, but Max was focused on the opponent's Pokémon, which headed nose first into the rock clefairy had first hid behind.

When it had, Max saw the oozing wound on the flank, something purple dripping onto the field. Poison.

First Psychic to block the Ice Beam, and now Poison Jab or something with clefairy's sharp nails to poison the glaceon? That luck with Metronome was stupid, and he instantly shifted gears. Pryce couldn't switch, and the low body temperature and metabolism would keep the poison in the system for a fair while. Not as fast as it would be on other Pokémon, but that was okay. Outlasting became his new plan. "Avoid!"

What followed was a simple game of cat and mouse, but the cat was wounded and the mouse was far faster at reacting to everything that happened. Clefairy avoided most of the attacks coming her way, only being hit by a Shadow Ball – a quintet had bracketed her, and she'd avoided four of them anyway – and an Icy Wind. Max didn't catch all that missed thanks to the thin Hail still present, but he knew it included a multi-coloured beam attack. Probably Signal Beam; it looked like it.

It felt a bit like cheating, just dodging and avoiding, but glaceon was just too slow at catching clefairy with anything from range, and any time the Ice-type decided it wanted to get close, a patch of manipulated gravity in a wide area in front of clefairy made sure that didn't happen. That had been Max's plan all along: to use clefairy's mastery of Gravity to allow her to control the battlefield, but with the Poison Jab for her and the Mirror Coat being Encored, it had gone beyond his wildest dreams.

He was already wondering about what Pryce was going to send out next when he saw glaceon glow… yellow? What the hell was going on there? "Move!" Max ordered on principle.

Clefairy did, but glaceon led the shot, causing an absolutely enormous star-shaped attack to crash partially into the Fairy-type's foot, sending her spinning up into the air and the upper shield.

Earth's gravity soon reasserted itself, and it assured Max that clefairy was still able to fight when she started creating a dome in which she would land, which she did without crashing too hard into the ice. It probably still hurt, and cost clefairy a lot of energy to create a dome with inverted gravity while falling, but it was better than the alternative for sure.

"Glaceon is unable to battle."

Max went for his Pokédex, managing to get it pointed at the glaceon and immediately going to the list of known moves. One caught his attention as soon as he saw the name, and though there was no accompanying picture of what the attack typically looked like, Last Resort sounded pretty much like what glaceon had used to try and knock clefairy out at the end. It certainly packed a punch, but clefairy looked like she could continue.

He shivered for a moment, and he had no idea why. The room was cold, which was why he was wearing a light coat, but… This went deeper than just that.

A jynx on the side dissipated the thin remnants of the hail Hail so Max could actually see the other end of the arena, and when he looked there, he saw Pryce give him an approving nod. "Well done," the Gym Leader said loudly, his voice strong, carrying across the distance between them with ease, despite the standard size arena they were fighting on. How did he do that? "Trusting your Pokémon when you can't see them is the mark of a great Trainer. Now, let's see if you can beat my second Pokémon."

Out came a piloswine, rearing up and stomping down on the ice as it readied itself for the battle. Shelia looked over at Max, and after a moment, he gave her a quick signal to wait. "You did great, clefairy. Get some rest for now," he said as he returned his motherly Fairy-type. He took a moment longer to think about his next Pokémon, but he couldn't find any last-minute reasons not to go with his original plan if manectric was not available. "Poliwhirl, it's your turn!"

Unsurprisingly, Pryce's Pokémon led with a Blizzard. _Perfect._ "Cover!" Max ordered as poliwhirl got behind one of the rocks – the same rock that clefairy had hid behind earlier – before using a very weak Water Gun on the rock's edge. It froze over immediately in the intense cold, but that was the plan: it further insulated poliwhirl from the harsh wind whipping around the arena.

The Swine Pokémon abandoned the Blizzard, instead starting to move. It was a slow start, but on the ice, keeping speed was easy, and piloswine were heavy enough to smash through rocks. That wasn't good, and poliwhirl got out of the way, making her opponent adjust course before she started the first part of the plan they had practised.

Raindrops started pelting away on the cold surface of the arena, turning into glaze ice the moment they hit the floor, even faster than Max had expected it to happen beforehand. The Blizzard really helped them out, he mused as poliwhirl started doing what she did best: slipping and sliding around on smooth surfaces, using the rocks on the arena and an occasional clever Water Gun to adjust her position, and she soon ended up behind piloswine, near Pryce.

She flipped herself up, hand on a rock, and launched a Water Pulse before even landing fully. Piloswine wasn't able to start moving fast enough to dodge it, instead just turning and taking the attack in the flank before facing poliwhirl again and launching a globe of mud through the air. It clipped Max's Pokémon, but she didn't care, instead using a Bubblebeam to trade blows.

Piloswine didn't turn in time, and several bubbles hit its snout, making it snort angrily. It stomped, and an icy Stone Edge rose from the ground, sharp shards zooming through the air, looking to pelt and cut poliwhirl.

Max's Pokémon wasn't able to dodge all of them, but most of them worked well enough, and a precise Water Gun knocked a second salvo out of the air before it could be launched, though it also diffused the water to just soak piloswine's fur instead of actually doing something. It made him wish that poliwhirl was actually good with Ice-type moves: freezing the wet fur would make the piloswine a sitting duck for anything else they could do.

An Ice Beam prompted poliwhirl to start moving again, and the rapid sliding was too much for the targeted attack to keep up with, a wall-like trail of ice following the path poliwhirl had taken to get out of the attack until Pryce's Pokémon gave up. Instead, another Stone Edge followed, and once again, it mostly missed, but some of them tore at poliwhirl.

It was time to stop avoiding and start attacking in earnest, Max realised. Piloswine were fine with trading, and Stone Edge was one of the attacks that could just hit completely wrong and open up a wound to exploit for later. Water Absorb could only do so much.

Water Pulse was the attack that was probably hardest to stop with either Stone Edge or Ice Beam, and he relayed that to his blue-and-white Pokémon.

She went for powerful hits over quick hits. The first globe obliterated over half of a Stone Edge coming her way, and after a quick skate across a short distance, a second Water Pulse did the same to a complete Stone Edge closer to piloswine's face. The globe splashed into the Ice-type's face, prompting another outburst of angry snorting.

Okay, that was a downside of the tactic. Piloswine's Take Down was now actually _fast_ , and it managed to clip poliwhirl while she was sliding by throwing its rear around to hit her. It caused both of them to hit obstacles uncontrollably, but Pryce's Pokémon was a lot more used to it, Max felt. It recovered faster for sure, going into a Blizzard while poliwhirl was on the front of a rock, instead of easily able to dodge behind it.

Poliwhirl launched herself forward, startling Max. Water ran over her body, he saw, but going straight into a Blizzard was stupid. What was she…

Oh. _Oh._

Poliwhirl was a _genius_.

Her speed on the ice was too great for the winds of the Blizzard to slow down, and with the water running over her, the low temperatures in the room, and the strength of the attack, she quickly froze into a hard block of ice. A hard block of ice that was hurtling towards piloswine, who couldn't dodge because its rear was still up against the rock. The best it could do was to avert its head, but something like forty pounds of pure ice hit it at great speed, shattering the ice and driving the piloswine through the rock behind it.

Poliwhirl didn't exactly come off great either, looking woozy as she got up, but she was far better off than piloswine, which was braying in pain. At the distance, Max couldn't see if there was blood, but taking anything to the face like that without being prepared for it would hurt. "Water Gun!"

The Ice Beam was too late, the water overpowering it long enough for it to hit piloswine in the face – in the weak spot. Poliwhirl did lose control of the attack as she couldn't maintain her footing on the extremely slippery floor, but she got up immediately, seeking out a place to better position herself.

Then a towel flew into the ring.

Max shivered for a moment as Pryce returned his piloswine. "I cannot win this. You tactically outmatched me at every turn in this second round, no, at all times. That was an inspired way of battling," the Gym Leader said, voice inexplicably carrying. "I think that deserves some applause, don't you think?"

After the children applauding and hooting, and Max ascertaining that poliwhirl was okay – she was, just in need of a bit of rest – he and both of his Pokémon made their way over to the area just in front of the stands. Behind him, the jynx were hard at work at recreating the arena as it had been before the battle. Pryce was there as well, and they shook hands before Max was granted the badge. "Well done. Now, my class has been pelting your poor friend with questions, so I think it's time for you to answer some." That made Max chuckle, and Danny as well. "Lydia?"

"What happened to glaceon? We couldn't see."

The indignant tone amused Max. Pryce waved to him to answer first. "Clefairy knows Metronome, you saw that at the start. Just after the Mirror Coat ended, she used it again, and I think it got Poison Jab. And, well… She's got really sharp nails." He bent down, prodding clefairy. "C'mon, go show them."

"Being able to work with the unexpected is important for Trainers. His switching from offence to avoiding was impeccable," Pryce added. "Some say Metronome is luck, but only if you get something that doesn't hurt just you."

"Clefairy has gotten Ember from it against my vulpix before," Max told the class. Some of the kids snickered. "Flash Fire makes vulpix immune _and_ it boosts Fire-type moves as well."

That got the rest of the class laughing. "Robin?"

"How was poliwhirl so fast?"

"Physics," Max replied, and the way the boy's face fell was amazing. "No, really."

"Piloswine's Blizzard lowered the temperature in the arena," Pryce took over. "And the floor was even colder because it's ice and we keep it like that. It made the rain turn into freezing rain. I assume you practised it before, and I walked into it."

"It's one of poliwhirl's tricks," Max said, patting the slimy Pokémon, who preened. "Sliding around is one of her ways of getting around the battlefield faster than people think she can. And ice is great for sliding." He glanced over at the Gym Leader. "I didn't expect the Take Down."

That got him an indulgent smile. "Least you were surprised at one point. Darren, may I?" A nod from the teacher. "Be honest. When you think about strong Trainers, who of you think about Pokémon just overpowering the other?" About fifteen hands went up. "But strength isn't everything. I happen to know that most of Max's strongest Pokémon are weak to mine."

"Sceptile is weak, xatu is weak, shelgon is weak," Max listed off on his fingers, figuring that Pryce wanted him to list them. "Baltoy and ninjask aren't as strong as those three, but they're weak too. And you brought out two counters to my manectric."

"If strength can't win, you need skill," Pryce continued his lecture, and Max saw every single pre-teen listening intently. "And that can take many forms. Many of piloswine's attacks were negated because of poliwhirl's superior speed. The clefairy didn't slip on the ice by creating small zones of her Gravity attack on her feet." Max nodded. "Timing is another skill, and the Encore had perfect timing. If you want to be a good Trainer, train skill and strength. Strength without skill is easily defeated. Now, Danny, I think we should battle now."

"Wait," Max said, and Pryce turned around, clearly wondering. "How did you talk to me from the other side of the arena?"

"Jynx knows a sound amplification trick. It comes in useful sometimes."

 **~~§~~§~~**

Mahogany wasn't as big as Ecruteak was, and it lacked a park, but that didn't stop the teenagers from finding a spot to use for their picnic. An early dinner picnic, sure, but still.

Danny had thought of it a few days before they found houndour. He hadn't been sure what it was going to look like at all, but after the first one in Ecruteak, both he and Max had agreed that this should be their celebration for winning a Gym Battle. Just a picnic, with each of them bringing some food. There were no heavy topics allowed except for the battle they just had, and it was all about trying to unwind and relax a bit.

There was enough to worry about, but if you worried all the time, you'd end up worse. And with Max being a big worry-wart, Danny felt pretty sure his friend needed it as well.

"Got some skewered stuff, a salad with radishes and Mago Berries as the main ingredients, and a couple of sandwiches," Danny said as he took the various containers out of the insulated bag. It hadn't taken him too long to get it all together the night before, with most of the work going to the skewers and slicing the soft cheese that was on there. "What did you bring?"

Max opened his own bag, revealing a closed container that had clearly been in the freezer until twenty minutes ago. "Lettuce, onion, and Oran Berry salad and some ice cream for dessert."

"Ice cream?" Danny exclaimed. How on earth…

Max made a wobbly gesture. "Well, kind of. Take some Pecha, cut them up, freeze very lightly, then blend them together. I added some nuts too." He opened the container a smidge, inviting Danny to come take a look. "Keith gave me the idea. Said his Mum used to make it when he was younger and didn't always want to eat his fruit."

It sure looked tasty enough, if pink. "Well then, let's go eat."

They ate in silence for a while, just enjoying the good mid-May weather that had finally shown up. Exploud, who had recovered from his battle in the Gym, and sceptile seemed to enjoy the weather as well, lazing nearby and occasionally eating some food, which was excellent. The salads were perfect, the skewers were tasty, and apart from one attempted theft by a spearow and a frisbee landing nearby, nobody interrupted them. "Nothing like a good meal after a hard battle," Danny said after finishing his last bite of regular food;. Max had been done for a minute already. There was some left, but knowing them, that would end up as an evening snack. "Let's wait a few for dessert."

"Sure," Max said, shrugging and turning the movement into a stretch so long Danny wanted to make a quip about Max trying to become taller by stretching himself out. "You still want to go to the Lake of Rage?" A lazy nod. "You never told me why."

Huh. "I didn't?" Danny said, trying to remember and not finding anything. "Oh, right, Serena called on the Pokénav to ask about an idea she had." Inspiration sure struck at weird times, but Danny had known that for years already. Dad hadn't exactly hidden it. "It's kind of stupid, but… Dad proposed to Mum there. Just feels like a place I should visit, y'know."

"Sap," Max shot back instantly, but the younger boy was on board. Danny could tell from the way he said it and his grin. "You could catch a magikarp there too, if you wanted to. It's supposed to have tons of them."

"And a couple of gyarados live in the lake as well, so you'll be keeping manectric out," Danny shot back, causing both of them to laugh merrily. "For real, gyarados are pretty cool, but they take a lot of effort and they're not my style." And both of them didn't really like Water-type Pokémon that were limited to water. Max's then-poliwag had made that pretty clear, despite being somewhat amphibious.

Sceptile walked up, grabbing the last remaining skewer and sitting down next to Max, taking care to keep the tail out of the way. The teenager half leaned-in, content. "And after going there?" he asked, grimacing against a sudden glare of sunlight reflecting off of something nearby – Danny could see it on Max's glasses. "How do you want to go to Blackthorn?"

Danny didn't answer immediately, instead stretching his leg and immediately regretting it as he felt a muscle start to cramp. It didn't. Barely. "Ice Cave. The passes are pretty bad, and getting into the Dragon Holy Land by accident sounds like a recipe for disaster," he told Max honestly. "Bunch of territorial and powerful Pokémon? I'll take my chances underground."

"Blame Team Rocket for that," Max said, surprising Danny. "They're the ones who stole the flame and caused the wildfire that burned a couple of acres before it was put out. Didn't help the dragonite guarding the place went berserk..."

Of _course_ Ash was involved. There was no other way Max knew those details; not when they had access to the same knowledge on the internet. "Every time I think I've heard it all, something else comes up," Danny said. "I shouldn't be surprised."

"About every single Legendary Pokémon in Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn," Max reminded Danny. "And I'm pretty sure he's kept things back from me as well." The younger teen raised his hands, holding them palm up near his shoulders. "But let's not talk about that, and aren't you supposed to be the one stopping me from thinking about way too much heavy stuff?"

They'd been best friends for years, but seeing smug confidence on the younger teen's face every time he outmanoeuvred Danny still irritated part of him. As per usual, though, he let it slide with a smile; a heartfelt one despite it all. It hadn't always been like that, but even the first time that it had happened – smug confidence instead of know-it-all bravado – Danny had eventually quashed the annoyance, and Dad had taken him aside later to ask what had been the problem.

One day, Danny hoped to be as good at reading people's body language or faces or whatever as Dad was.

He shook his head, stopping his inner thinking, seeing Max's confidence faltering as he tried to make sense of Danny's silence. That was okay, but it'd do what was forbidden. "It's a one-way street, Max," Danny said as haughtily as he could manage. "You need to be protected from yourself sometimes."

That scowl, most definitely faked, always made Danny's day.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Pressure on his bladder woke Danny up, sometime in the arceus-forsaken hours of the night. He carefully got himself out of his sleeping bag – under the night sky this time because it was warm. There weren't a lot of stars visible through the leaves. Some moonlight did make it through, enough to see by as he stumbled towards a bush a bit away. He wanted to crawl back into warmth, but he knew he couldn't yet, or he'd not sleep.

He found an out of the way spot, but then blue light caught his eye. It moved and it danced; it bounced and it wiggled. It called, wanting Danny to…

"Dusclops!" Danny hissed as he shook himself out of the Will-O-Wisp, all warmth and sleepiness gone from his body. He tensed, ready to fight off another mental attack or to dodge a physical one. He didn't know which Pokémon had tried to do it, but he wasn't having any of it.

His Ghost-type, on guard duty for the night, appeared on the scene, releasing a harsh red light that made Danny close his eyes to not be blinded. When it subsided from his eyelids, the culprit was clearly visible – and surprised. A small litwick hovered – no, stood on a branch – a few feet above a brush, flinching when a Night Shade lanced out. The attack didn't hit, as dusclops exercised enough control to keep the attack in check.

He felt for the litwick. It looked _terrified_. Maybe it was the lighting, but the purple flame on top of its head shivered, and there wasn't any wind to cause it to do that. And while Ghost-types were tricksters, Danny felt it wasn't the case here. "Let it go, dusclops," he said softly.

The Night Shade dissipated, and it took Danny's eyes a moment to adjust to the lack of lighting. Litwick jumping down didn't help, but it soon came out of the brush, slowly waddling across the grass. It stopped as dusclops made her way past Danny to stand in front of him; a hint of Ghost-type energy trailing over his shins. "Clops?"

"Wick-wi," the white Pokémon squeaked back, tilting its… its body, Danny supposed. It was all head. "Lit?"

Not knowing a Pokémon at all meant pure blind guessing as to what it meant, and it was the middle of the night. It was too late, too early, whatever, for this. It made Danny wish for the gardevoir to be here and help, except that'd probably keep him awake for an hour if things went wrong. "Dusclops?" he asked. "What is it?"

"Clo," his Ghost-type said, pointing at litwick first, and then suddenly taking a step back and tapping Danny's thigh. "Ops."

Okay. This was getting too surreal for whatever o'clock it was. "You want to come with me," Danny said flatly, and the litwick nodded so hard the flame nearly hit the grass. "It's the middle of the night. I can't battle you now."

The shake made it extremely clear that the litwick would join without even a battle. "Wiiiiiiick," it said, begging. There was something of an attempt at puppy eyes going on, but Danny was immune to those, and the fire on its head and the wax covering one eye didn't help either.

He sighed. "Stay here," he said. "I need a pokéball for this. You stay as well, dusclops."

Finding his couple of spare pokéballs wasn't hard, in a side-pocket of his pack as they were, but as he rose to walk back, Danny thought of something. He moved left, towards where Max was sleeping, and quickly located the green pokéball on the belt lying next to the black sleeping bag. His friend's breathing didn't change at all, luckily, so hopefully, he'd sleep through all of this.

Gardevoir seemed a bit surprised to be sent out, and for a moment, he looked ready to fight, but then, somehow, the Psychic-type realised this wasn't related to the watching that he also did from time to time. Probably the empathic powers he had. "I need you to translate," Danny said softly. "I just want to know one thing."

Max's Pokémon nodded, concentrating, and then sending a whisper into Danny's mind. _"Of course."_

Silently thanking gardevoir for keeping a whisper, Danny turned back to the litwick that was just standing there, looking at the three taller figures. "I've got a pokéball here," Danny said, kneeling down because it felt right to do that. He held out the ball in front of him, enlarging it with a mechanic, metallic _shoop._ "But why do you want to join?"

A look between him and gardevoir to his left, and litwick quickly squeaked off an answer consisting of six syllables. _"He has never seen a human throw off his Will-O-Wisp entrancement so fast,"_ gardevoir translated dutifully. Another titter, and an enthusiastic jump up. _"He thinks it's amazing."_

Perhaps the second translation wasn't needed, but the solemn tone that gardevoir used made Danny snort softly. "Well. Can't say no to that. Welcome, litwick. I'll come get you tomorrow," he said as he rolled the ball across the grassy field. It stopped just short of the Ghost-type, but a tap ensured the capsule opened, and the capture was instant. "Strangest thing of the year," Danny muttered.

He walked the thirty feet to their camp, and somehow, Max sitting up in his sleeping bag – rubbing his eyes – was not a surprise to him. "'chu want gardevoir for?"

"Translation," Danny said as he remembered to return Max's Pokémon, doing so and putting the capsule down right next to Max's hand. "Caught a litwick. Wanted to join me. I wanted to know why."

"Why?" Max echoed.

"'Coz I resisted his Will-O-Wisp," Danny said matter-of-factly. A twinge reminded him of why he had gotten out of his sleeping bag in the first place, and he started walking away. "Go sleep now, Max. We'll talk in the morning."

"Where you going?"

"To pee."

 **~~§~~§~~**

"This is the last time I let you talk me into something like this," Keith swore as he followed Jane across the Great Marsh, near Pastoria. He was wearing rubber rain boots that reached to maybe a hand under his knee, and still he could feel water and mud everywhere in his socks. "Why did you even want to come here?"

"Told you before," Jane replied, far more chipper than he was. "I want to see if I can get a carnivine. This is the only place they show up a lot." She stopped, turning around as Keith did the same. "Oh, and you know it won't be the last time I talk you into something."

Then, she started moving, and Keith's eyes drifted down for a moment before he resumed his trudging. She was completely right, as usual. "Plant Pokémon, right? Eats small bugs and stuff? Why do you want another Grass-type?" He was pretty sure he hadn't asked that before. "We haven't caught a new Pokémon since halfway in Kalos."

"It's not for me, dummy," Jane replied, turning around, one hand on her hip. "It's for your Mum."

"My Mum," Keith repeated blankly. He blinked, and put a finger in his ear to make sure some mud hadn't found its way in there. "You know she hates Pokémon in the home, right?"

Jane started walking again, and Keith hurried to keep up. As much as he could in the marsh. "She said so. But carnivine don't make a lot of mess, and they're perfect to get rid of all kinds of nasty bugs and insects too. Don't need much food either."

She had really thought this through. "Not me you need to convince," Keith told his girlfriend of thirteen months. "Still wish they lived somewhere else than this _marsh!"_ he added as his foot sank down, and he yanked it out immediately, before the muddy water reached the top of the boot in force. "Walking in heavy snow is a lot better than this." And he had hated that as well. Some snow, like in Kalos, fine. The amounts Sinnoh got? Fuck that.

They walked for a bit, but all they saw were a couple of croagunk looking at them and Keith's vivilion flying overhead, and Jane swore she saw a yellow Pokémon, but he didn't see any. They did come to one of the wooden paths that crossed the area, allowing Keith to rest for a moment. He even convinced Jane to stop as well; the clock helping him out on that one. It was getting close to lunch.

"What do you want to do after you're done travelling?"

The question took Keith by surprise, and he lost a quarter sandwich to the marsh, making his girlfriend giggle. Thankfully, he had brought plenty, but he didn't get a new one, instead thinking, and not really coming up with an answer. "No idea. It's what, sixteen months off? I barely know where I'll be next week!"

He mock-glared at Jane, who stuck out a tongue. She was more impulsive in where to go, especially since they'd agreed to take it slow and easy in Sinnoh. They had three badges now since January, and they'd just meandered around the region, going wherever they wanted to go. "Everyone has a dream. I know I do."

"What's yours, then?"

"I could just not tell you," Jane said teasingly, but for once, she relented under his exasperated look. "I want to be an animator. Like cartoons, or maybe for children's books." She shrugged. "Don't know what exactly, but it's been something I've wanted to be for years."

Despite Jane not saying anything about it before this moment, Keith felt it fit his girlfriend perfectly. As long as he'd known her, she'd always been great at drawing, and it was fun to watch her draw. She looked cute while concentrating. "You should go for that," he agreed. "Everyone loves your drawings, I know that."

That got him a quick peck. "And you? Any dreams of being a famous world-class Trainer?"

It was an obvious tease, and they both knew it. After Kalos, they knew hey weren't cut out for that. "Two years back, maybe," Keith allowed. "But I don't know. I'm only fourteen, and yes, you are too. Do most people know what they want to be at fourteen?"

"The ones we know, maybe."

The duo Jane alluded to, sure. "Sure, but Crasher Wake was a wrestler before becoming a Gym Leader, and I know Mum didn't really know herself at my age."

Jane scooted over, leaning into his shoulder for just a moment. "Runs in the family then."

"Hope it's the only thing."

Wait, _what_ did he just say? Why did he say that? He glanced to the side, seeing Jane giving him a weird look, but the apology he was going to make was stopped by a finger on his lips. "What do you mean? And be honest."

He opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, closed it again, swallowed, drank some water, and swallowed again. "C'mon Keith," he said to himself. "You can do it." He looked back up, into his girlfriend's understanding eyes. "I don't want to be like my father. Running away from my family and putting them in money trouble for years." The idea was revolting, but… he knew he'd inherited at least something of his father.

"Didn't he cheat on your Mum? And then took all the money?" Jane asked, getting a nod as her answer. Anger rose within for a moment. "You're not him, Keith. I know you've got his hair and face, but that doesn't make you like him." She bit her lip. "You want to know what my Mum and Dad told me? About you?"

Wait, what? When had that happened? What did that even mean? "Uwha?"

Jane snorted softly, pressing a finger against his nose. "They said that you're kind, sweet, stubborn, and good for me. With examples too." She gave him an absolutely brilliant smile, causing a happy fluttering in his pretty full stomach as his face turned into a tomato. "And you know what I think about your mother? She's just like you. Talking to her was a lot like talking to you. Except I can't make her shut up like _this_."

It was five minutes later when Keith and Jane broke off, and only because Keith saw a wild wooper jump into the marsh with something that looked like a sandwich bag in its mouth. One look later confirmed it: Keith's remaining lunch was gone, but after what Jane had just done, he didn't care.

Groudon below he loved her.

 **~~§~~§~~**

The pictures on the screen were very familiar. Once trustworthy boys, now traitors to Hoenn. "These are the most recent pictures we have," the man told the three of them, assembled in the room. The other two were male, older. One had brown hair, the other's was covered with a cap. "They are travelling across Johto, and the Trainer database suggests they are taking the so-called inner circuit around." Inner circuit. Eight badges in the heart and east of Johto and the shared area. "This one was taken near Mount Mortar, not long ago. Both of them received a badge in Mahogany a few days ago."

Mahogany meant the next stop was Blackthorn. "Blackthorn's a fortress," one of the others spoke up, voice hoarse.

"Then we find them elsewhere. Only two places they can go," the third of their group spoke up, sibilant. He scratched his head. "If they're not Teleporting everywhere."

"We have a way of stopping that. Otherwise, this would be a fool's errand." The cloth went off the thing next to the one who had invited them here. "This device will stop Psychic-types from concentrating well enough to do anything. It works by burning up certain gems from Unova – the locals call them Psychic Gems. One should give you about an hour's worth of disabling; long enough for you to neutralise them otherwise." The man gave a sharp look. "You have a Pokémon that should help with that."

Sleep Powder should do the trick. No matter how strong a Trainer you were, you were still human, and you could be caught off guard. "I will do my best to bring them back to Hoenn."

"Of course you will," the brown-haired man that would lead them spoke up, holding out his hand for a shake. It was taken. "You know how they think. Know your enemy and yourself, and you will win battle upon battle," the man quoted. "We have the battling skill to counter them, and you the knowledge. Together, we _will_ bring them to justice."

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _Rowan,_

 _We have concluded our experiment. Despite several months of practice, our subject was unable to achieve Mega Evolution. We have also ruled out that it is neither the Pokémon nor the equipment being used; see the attached document for details. Human influence is the only variable that could make sense, as per our assumption and the results of your own experiment with the Abomasite._

 _I am aware that this lacks scientific rigour, but I believe that we have enough information to put it out to the public that barriers appear to exist and that not everyone can achieve Mega Evolution. This should at least keep most Trainers from clamouring for it for the foreseeable future, until the truth inevitably trickles down._

 _Your thoughts?_

 _Oak_

* * *

 **Author's** **Note** : A bit late, no thanks to my internet. In return, you do get a long chapter; one that got a bit out of control, but it's still fine **.**

Next update in three weeks: I'll be lucky to have free time in the next two weekends. **  
**


	12. Council And Counsel

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Council and Counsel**

He returned often, but as ever, landing in Blackthorn; his birthplace, the ancestral seat of the Dragon Clan, was comforting in ways many would not even understand. Dragons were a way of life, with many families raising their Pokémon through generations, becoming close to their Pokémon and creating bonds that cast shadows over all but a few. It was no coincidence that several past Grand Champions throughout the Home Regions had either been born in Blackthorn or had lived there for an extended period of time in their formative years.

The house Lance kept in Blackthorn was impeccable as always, suffused with the smell of the many Pokémon he did not bring to the Plateau. Technology made that not particularly needed, and even if that wasn't working, dragonite could bring him here in twenty turbulent minutes. He hadn't ever needed to do that, but it was possible.

He wished he could spend some time with the Pokémon, and he saw a bagon peek her head around a corner, but it would have to wait. He had a guest, who was already there, and his uncle, whom he had yet to see, had already placed several refreshments in the traditional room. The partitions were set up for privacy, and Lance could taste the slightly muggy air; a sign that some barrier was present. "Reginald," he greeted the exiled Gym Leader with a nod. It was returned as he sat down; seiza as expected. Traditions were to be observed here. "Would you like business or pleasure first?"

He asked for form's sake. "Business," Reginald replied. "I must admit to being surprised at your offering pleasure."

Lance smiled politely. Reginald had thrown himself fully into working with the G-men to coordinate movements throughout the Home Regions. There had been some friction at first, but it had all resolved itself as personalities meshed instead of clashed. "I believe you will enjoy it. But you asked for business first." The Grand Champion slid forward a piece of paper; half a normal sheet. "What do you know of this company?"

"Not a great deal," Reginald replied after reading the name and description. "Like what's written, I know it's a company specialising in home protection: locks, alarms, baby monitors…" he added, sounding a tad bewildered at the seemingly random item on the list. "They're led by several Kanto expats, if I remember."

All true. And yet… "Read the first word backwards."

"S-I-L-H…" the middle-aged man started, only to stop himself and bury his face in a hand. Lance had felt much the same once it had been pointed out to him. "The audacity is staggering, as is the fact that we had not picked up on it. How was this not noticed earlier on? It's been less than a decade since Silph was dismantled and Team Rocket's influence in Kanto greatly diminished."

"The same way that you and I didn't realise it at first," Lance offered, knowing full-well it was cold comfort. "Just a normal name for a normal company. It does not stand out unless you scrutinise it closely. That they sell in both Kanto and Kalos also threw us off for a while: we'd expected Team Rocket to _not_ be linked to Kanto with their company."

"It is extremely audacious," Reginald repeated himself, shaking his head. "At least they likely don't know that we are onto them. Have you told Diantha just yet?"

Lance shook his head in the negative. "That is part of what I wanted to speak to you about. They know that Team Rocket is in Kalos, but they don't know the identity just yet. They want to identify them, but understandably, the past months have been focused on dismantling all of the Team Flare infrastructure and networks." The Grand Champion paused, remembering yveltal and the destruction it still wrought. "We need to formulate a strategy."

"One that uproots the entire company, rather than rushing in." A short pause as Reginald took a sip from his drink, reminding Lance that he had one as well. "I understand the desire to not see a new Team Flare arise from my Kalosian colleagues, but where Team Rocket is, black market business follows." A sigh. "I believe I shall be spending time in Kalos. Preferably getting in via Prudan."

"Don't book your flight just yet," Lance interrupted the man's visible thinking on what the best angle of approach would be. "You have Gym Leader duties to attend to." That certainly captured the attention. "Danny Birch and Max Maple won their fifth Johto badge yesterday against Pryce. Here is where they'll go next, though they left town northerly earlier today. Are you willing to team up with Clair and fight one of them?"

Lance made sure to hide his smile in his glass as he drank deeply, seeing the Gym Leader struggle with the desire to go back to what he liked doing most of all and the desire to fulfil what he felt was duty. The former won out, of course. Lance would not have proposed it otherwise. "Clair takes one, I take one?"

"No, you do a Double Battle against Birch," Lance corrected. "Think of it as an eighth badge challenge, only different." Reginald's challenge had been a four-on-two Double Battle. "Talk to her about a format. I shall be exercising my prerogative as Grand Champion and Master Dragon Tamer to test Maple myself." He allowed a smirk. "Is that okay with you?"

"As long as you either let us watch or you record it," came a surprising reply, and one that swapped the smirk from one Dragon-type Trainer to the other. "Your idea of what makes a proper battle test tends to… How do I put this correctly..." Reginald said, not fooling Lance for a moment. "Oh, yes. Throw someone into the windswept ocean, expecting them to stay afloat."

 **~~§~~§~~**

Ducklett's Air Slash split the starmie's Water Gun, causing the attack to fall to the sides, onto the soaked ground. It cost Serena's opponent a few more points, but before she could check if it was enough, a buzzer rang out. "Time!" was announced, and a look upwards didn't tell Serena anything anyway. From her angle, it was impossible to find out which of the Coordinators was in the lead. The battle had been close. "And the winner is… Anna, by two points!"

That stung a bit, but Serena was happy for her opponent nevertheless. The red-haired girl was a few months younger, going for her first Grand Festival, and this was her qualifying Ribbon. It would've been the same for Serena, but seeing the utter joy on the girl's face made the loss bearable. She was showering her starmie with praise, having run out to join it.

Ducklett had waddled back, looking a bit sad. "You did great," Serena told her Pokémon, kneeling, stroking the feathers in the duck's neck. "We've got plenty more chances. And you're definitely getting better at that Air Slash."

The duck preened before hopping back into her pokéball, where it was… Something suitable for Pokémon. It wasn't like Serena had ever asked her Pokémon what it was like in there. She looked up, seeing Anna walk over, her own Water-type also gone. "That was close," she said by way of greeting.

"It was, and congratulations!" Serena agreed, holding a hand out and getting a shake. "I'll just get it elsewhere. Plenty of places I can go." Maybe something near Fuchsia. She hadn't gone out there yet and the Safari Zone sounded interesting.

"Why are you here anyway? Isn't Kalos all the way across the world?"

Serena shrugged as she saw the water on the arena floor being siphoned away. "Couple of reasons," she said. "And I've got family living in Viridian. It's not the first time I've been here. Just the first time I've been here this long."

Anna didn't seem to understand. "But… Isn't it hard? To be half the world away from your parents?"

"I can still talk to my Mum," Serena replied. "I can write, too, but we just plan when we want to talk. Normally Sunday evening, but if Mum's out for work, we change it up."

"I don't think my parents would like it if I went that far away… They don't even want me to go to Sinnoh after the Grand Festival."

That was kind of stupid, Serena thought. It wasn't like Sinnoh was that far away, and it shared a time zone with Kanto, being almost straight north. "Do you know why?" she asked, and Anna shook her head. "Maybe ask them why they don't want you to go there. You've got some time to spare before the Grand Festival. Go visit them."

Anna's reply was stopped as her name was called for the Ribbon ceremony, which was Serena's cue to get off the stage. Her time in the spotlight would come.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Ash found his mother tending the small vegetable garden out in the back, mostly just checking to see if there weren't any bugs trying to eat the food. From what little he knew, it looked like it would be a good harvest later in the year, but it was early days yet, as Mum was fond of reminding him. "Hey Ash," she said as she saw him. "I didn't hear charizard."

"Landed at Professor Oak's lab," Ash replied, sharing a brief hug. "Had to talk to him for something, and charizard wanted to rest."

His Mum didn't say anything as they went inside. Mimey was folding laundry, cheerfully greeting Ash as he entered, but the Pokémon stayed with the clothes for now. Mum went and put some water in the kettle for tea, sitting down afterwards. Pikachu had already taken up his usual position on the back of Ash's favourite chair. "I guess you're leaving soon then?"

Dropping by Professor Oak before going on a journey, or to Unova to help defeat Team Plasma, not that she'd known that at the time, was a bit of a habit of his. "Kinda," Ash said, and he saw confusion appear. "Remember me telling you about Scott asking me if I wanted to become a Frontier Brain?" That was nearly three years ago now, though Scott had repeated his question after Ash had come home with the Sinnoh League trophy – at which point Mum had also found out.

"I do?" Mum said, and Ash could her trying to remember that. "Didn't you say no because you wanted to keep travelling?"

"I did, and I had the offer from Drake that I wanted to pick up after I won in Sinnoh," he said, glancing at the trophies standing on matching wooden plinths. "Then the Champion's League happened, and..." he trailed off, figuring he didn't need to say much more. "But Scott contacted me last month. Asked if I wanted to replace Spencer as the Palace Maven. He was looking to retire." Ash hadn't thought it at the time, not with how spry the man was, but Spencer was in his seventies. "And I accepted this time."

A few moments passed as his mother processed what that exactly meant. Then she hugged the life out of him, luckily stopping before his fingers started tingling from lack of blood coming in. "That's wonderful!" she enthused. "Oh, my baby all grown-up and moving out. Spencer's the Palace Maven, right? Out near Seafoam?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah. That's why I was at Professor Oak's… I'm going to move nearly all of my Pokémon there, and there's just a lot to do before I take over. And I'm moving there too."

"And you're frightened about that because you've been travelling for so long, aren't you?" Mum asked shrewdly, prompting a blush and a sheepish grin. "You'll get used to it, Ash. You got used to travelling years ago, and that is harder to do. And isn't that island big and warm enough for you to sleep outside if you want to anyway in summer?"

"Uhuh," Ash said. He didn't know for sure, but it was pretty far south.

"And I'll make sure you get all the furniture you need." Mum fixed him with A Look. "I'm sure we can borrow one of the Oak Pokémon for transportation so I know what I'm dealing with."

Oh, right. "Actually, Mum… I'm taking the boat up to Sinnoh the day after tomorrow," Ash told her. "I need a second Pokémon I can fly on because charizard, well… I want to be able to get off the island, raising a Psychic-type takes ages to get anywhere, and if I used charizard only for flying, he'd barbecue me."

A smile danced on his mother's face. "Yes, he would, wouldn't he? Is there a Pokémon that you're trying to find?"

"Tropius live in the Great Marsh and are large enough to support flight," Ash said. "Professor Oak also told me to try and catch an abra anyway, but that's… Well, it's not easy."

"How did Gary catch one then?"

That was a good question. "Guess I should ask him before I leave. Thanks Mum!"

 **~~§~~§~~**

The Lake of Rage was very tranquil as Danny and Max arrived there. The irony didn't escape Danny, and it probably didn't escape Max either. "So, where's the spot?"

Danny took a folded picture from his pocket and held it up. Max came closer to have a look. "Some kind of cliff," he said, trying to find any other detail that would allow identification, but most of it was just his parents in their twenties looking completely besotted with each other. "Looks to be a bit narrow, but that could be just a trick."

"Well..." Max said. "There's something there on the east bank. Maybe a mile away?" he added, shrugging. "Can't say much more than that. We didn't buy new binoculars after Serena left."

A mile looked about right. "You up for walking there before we set up for lunch?" Danny asked, checking the time. It was half past eleven, not that it felt like it after Max had woken them up way before sunrise.

Max gave him the predicted half-glare, as usual when he'd woken up due to some nightmare. Suggest anything that even resembled taking it easy on these days and he'd take it as a slight against his ego. Danny was pretty sure Max wouldn't exactly hold back if someone else tried to suggest the same. "Can do that, sure."

The mile walk turned out to take close to an hour, thanks to a lot of Trainers all wanting to battle. Danny wasn't sure where they'd come from, but they had shown up anyway. Most of them had been good practice for various Pokémon, and already, Danny had a decent idea of how he could use litwick in battles.

The downside of all the battles was, of course, that their stomachs were complaining loudly, and both of them opted to skip out on using bowls, instead just upending the package to throw the nuts and dried fruit into their hands for food. It took a few of those before Danny felt like he had enough brain cells left over to check if it was the place that he wanted to visit. "Let's see..." he said as he took the picture out of his pocket once again. "Sure looks like the place."

Max grabbed the picture without saying anything, but Danny had seen the movement. There was a bit of humming – full-sounding due to the food in Max's mouth – before he, too, came to a conclusion. "Yup. The cliff's a lot less deep, though."

"That looks like it was broken off by force," Danny said. "Maybe that Lake of Rage thing that happened here years ago?"

"Nah, that was closer to the river exit on the south end," Max corrected, and Danny conceded the point to him as he shook the bag of nuts one last time, getting a handful and starting to eat them. "But with so many magikarp and gyarados in the lake, maybe another evolution at the time?"

Both of them looked at the alert manectric, who was watching the water with at least an eye and a half as she carefully nibbled on a Pokéblock. For that matter, aggron's pokéball was also lying on the ground instead of being on Danny's belt, but he wasn't going to send the heavy Pokémon out unless he had to. Aggron wasn't much a fan of that, which made him a bit of an outsider in their teams. "I almost pity any gyarados who tries something funny."

That got a laugh out of Max. "Could be good preparation too. They're honorary Dragons after all. Clair might bring one out for you." He looked down, and Danny followed the gaze towards the wristband. "I think I'm going to use manectric anyway if she doesn't pull out a garchomp or something. It's been far too long since she got to cut loose in something that isn't our sparring."

And that sparring was pretty rare anyway, because when manectric really cut loose, there was environmental damage. Neither of them really wanted to uproot trees or set fire to them from lightning strikes, so it only happened in rocky areas that weren't at risk for avalanches. "How long has it been anyway? Ash at Indigo?"

"The tournament near Union Cave," Max corrected. "When we had simultaneous matches in the round of 32. Opponent had a lucario and an espeon left with a bit of switching, and I didn't want to go out."

"You ended up _winning_ that tournament. Beating _me_ in the final match." Which hadn't featured any Megas, but that was a rule they'd agreed on.  
Max smiled happily. "Yeah. That battle was better than any other." Danny just rolled his eyes. "But yeah, everyone sent out Ground-types for their last Pokémon if they could after that. Imagine that, huh." Both of them snickered. "You planning to use aggron?"

Danny shook his head. "Probably not. Froslass is a given, and I haven't used drapion at all so far in Johto, so that's two Pokémon already locked in. Maybe klefki as the first Pokémon to stall and get a feel for how Clair fights."

"And hope it's not a fire-breathing dragon," Max pointed out drily. "It's pretty… Wait, you hear that?"

Danny didn't hear anything strange, but he could follow Max's look upwards, and that revealed a Pokémon flying past at incredible speeds, some distance in the air. The shape was hard to see, but colour was at least visible against the grey background of the clouds: orange. "Wait, that's..."

"That's a dragonite," Max confirmed, trying to track the Pokémon as it turned around over the Lake of Rage before diving down, dropping a lot of speed and throwing the lake into turmoil underneath it. "You think it's friendly?"

"What are you asking me for?" Danny said as he got up. One foot started protesting. "You're the one with the Dragon-type and more experience with dragonite. I was the one scared of a dragon _air_ , for crying out loud."

The dragonite had nearly crossed the distance, and Manectric barked over Max's answer, loudly and very happily. A gentle, almost melodic, sound floated back over the water. "Is it friendly, girl?" Max asked, and two very enthusiastic barks later, Danny was pretty sure that the answer was yes. "Wait a minute… Is that one of Lance's?"

The seven foot something Pokémon landed in front of Max before manectric could answer that, but it answered the question by itself, placing a hand on the teen's shoulder and letting out a happy cry. "Think so," Danny said, and he felt some tension leave his body. "One of the two you fought with in Geosenge?"

Electricity danced between the antennae on its head for a moment, and that answer was good enough for the teens. "Sure looks like it," Max said, grinning widely. The dragonite sat down, but even seated, it was taller than Max was. "Were you just out for a flight before you spotted us?" A shake. "Okay… So there's a purpose to your flight."

"Were you looking for us?" Danny asked, and that got him a nod. "But, why?" he asked as he ran a hand through his blonde hair. "The last few times we met Lance, it wasn't happy. Nothing to do with him," Danny added quickly.

The response was swift, but kind, as the dragon put a paw on Danny's wrist, warmth pulsing underneath the leathery skin with every heartbeat. It let out a low and long cry that felt like understanding, and the heat on his wrist expanded, but comfortingly so. Eyes met, and there was nothing but compassion rushing out to meet him.

This was what people meant when they said dragonite were gentle giants, Danny realised suddenly. The orange Pokémon barely even knew him, but the empathy was staggering.

Then the dragonite looked up and let out a loud – but not painful, despite being so close – cry; one that was answered by a sharper, but lower, bellow from up on high, and both boys looked up to see a figure up in the air, though some distance away. Danny was reasonably sure it was another Pokémon, but the shape was too unclear at the distance – it was probably close to a mile away all things considered.

The Pokémon started closing in, and Danny and Max met eyes, shrugging and agreeing silently to wait and see what would happen. Danny didn't feel like the dragonite would call for a Pokémon that was going to hurt them, so he chose to pack away the food.

When he looked back up a moment later, the Pokémon – a salamence – was clearly visible. There was a rider as well; a teenager, Danny thought as the salamence landed nearby. Seventeen or so? Couldn't be much older if the hair on his face was anything to go by. "Ah, there you are. Was expecting you to be closer to the Ice Path..." The teenager shook his head. "I'm here to get you into Blackthorn all quick-like." He fiddled with a set of pokéballs, and out came a pidgeot and a flygon. The latter tittered happily when it was released. "We're flying, so get to a Pokémon and hop on."

Great. Just _great._ The last time Danny had been on the back of a flying Pokémon, he'd felt like throwing his breakfast up for like half the flight, and that had been over an hour and a half after he'd actually eaten. "Er… Which Pokémon is..."

"Inexperienced flyer?" the Blackthornite – Danny guessed – asked. "That explains why Clair made me take pidgeot. She's gentle."

"Any reason why we're flying there?" Max asked as his hand rubbed flygon's neck. "We would've been there in a week anyway."

A shrug. "Dunno. Didn't ask. When Clair wants something done, she doesn't share reasons. You can ask her yourself in an hour and a bit."

Danny opened his mouth to ask about their packs, but then he noticed that dragonite was standing next to them, and rope flew across his vision a moment later. "Wait a moment," he told dragonite as it started to tie the packs together. "Going to empty water bottles."

Doing that took a moment, during which Max had already gotten on flygon's back. The green Pokémon hovered close to the ground, with the teenager on its back looking completely at ease. "Good idea," he complimented. "Don't fancy having to clean everything because water spilled. That'd _suck."_

That, at least, made Danny laugh a bit. Max hated doing laundry. "Well, nothing for it."

Pidgeot's flight was a lot calmer than the salamence back in November, but Danny still didn't like the way the ground blurred below them as they flew at altitude. He didn't know what it was, but he couldn't get comfortable on the back of a flying Pokémon. He wasn't even afraid of heights, but this just… Got to him.

He wished he could talk to someone. Maybe that could help to distract him. It had helped back in December, so… Maybe it was the same here? Trying to talk to others flying at arceus only knew how fast didn't work, though...

The mountain range surrounding the Blackthorn valley soon came into view, its unnaturally cold climate standing out. Snow-topped peaks, not even that high, this late into spring was just stupid. The snow and ice caused the temperature to drop, and Danny found himself hating his short-sleeved shirt and trying to get close to pidgeot didn't do too much for warming up. Luckily, It didn't last long, as the range wasn't that big, and Blackthorn came into view on his right.

One of the largest buildings in town was the Gym, and the Pokémon flew straight there, using the lawn to land on. Danny dismounted as quickly as he could, sitting down on the ground, breathing slowly, deeply. His stomach feebly threatened to revolt, but it was easily quashed.

Pidgeot craned its head into his view, looking concerned, and Danny tried for a smile. "Not your fault," he said, almost whispering. He cleared his throat. "Dunno what it is. Flying doesn't work for me. Nothing to do with you."

"Some people have that," a strong female voice rang out from behind him. "You could have told us this."

"I had thought it to be the circumstances, not something deeper," Reginald spoke up. Danny half-turned around to see him next to someone he recognised as Clair a moment later. "My mistake."

"We could've told you it was deeper," Max said as he held out a hand for Danny to grab. He pulled the older boy up to his feet with surprising strength. "Hell, you were there on the ship. You saw how fast he recovered."

"I was expecting teenage boy machismo there," Reginald replied. "Though in retrospect, that seems a foolish decision given your personality profiles. It matters not," he declared. "Welcome to Blackthorn."

"Thanks," Max said, and Danny muttered the same. "Did save us some time. How long were we in the air?"

"Thirty-five minutes?" the teenager that had found them said, speaking up for the first time since they'd landed. "Loads faster than walking it."

"All of us need to prepare for the Gym Battles you will want," Clair stated, brooking no disagreement. "We will meet here in three days, on Thursday, at ten in the morning. If you're up for it, of course," she added.

Danny didn't particularly feel like he could say 'no' anyway.

 **~~§~~§~~**

He should have known that something was going to be out of the ordinary, but it still came as a surprise to Danny when Clair revealed that their Gym Battles would be split up and that they'd be some of the hardest challenges they had ever faced. Max had been told to leave on a familiar flygon that would take him elsewhere – to _Lance! -_ while Danny would have to face the might of two Gym Leaders working together.

Words Max had said a few times rang through his mind. Gym Leaders did not set challenges they thought Trainers couldn't do, basically always, but if he was completely honest, knowing that two dozen years of Gym Leader experience was about to go up against him in a Double Battle was a tiny bit intimidating.

"This will be a three on three Double Battle," the referee explained, mostly for the camera that had been set up to the side of the second field in the Blackthorn Gym. Clair had explained that she regularly recorded battles for other Dragon Clan members to watch and work with. It'd also allow Max to watch the battle back later. "The challenger, Danny Birch of Petalburg, will be allowed to switch out Pokémon at leisure, while the Gym Leaders cannot. If a Gym Leader Pokémon is knocked out, the Gym Leader it belonged to will send out a replacement for the third and final Pokémon. Is everyone ready?"

If Danny were completely honest, he'd probably say he wasn't, but it was too late to back out now. He enlarged the two pokéballs he was going to throw, one in each hand, and waited for the referee to give the sign.

Dragonair and a Pokémon Danny had only seen once before took the field. That had been in the charity match between Drake and Ash, ages ago.

 _Druddigon, the Cave Pokémon. The skin on its face is harder than rock, and it uses both claw and head to fight in close quarters._

The dragonair would probably stay at range while druddigon came close to use those claws. Danny would have to wait and see the exact methods, though. Swampert could probably meet druddigon head-on, but Doubles were different.

Clair's Pokémon led with a weak Twister that threw up dust and sand from the floor, prompting swampert to move in and block it for drapion, who used the time he was hidden from sight to ready a Poison Sting. He stuck his head beyond swampert and launched them straight forward, where they impacted on a charging druddigon outlined in blue.

A Protect appeared and the blue Pokémon crashed into the shield, which visibly shook. It wouldn't hold long; especially not when dragonair was also there. He scanned the arena for signs of where the flying Pokémon was.

The glint of orange was a shock. "Yank swampert!" Danny yelled, and he saw drapion wrap a claw around swampert's right leg before doing just that. The act dropped the Protect, which caused the druddigon to fall forward, but it also made the Hyper Beam that dragonair had launched from behind miss by inches.

Then the world turned vivid orange-white for a moment, and Danny had to close his eyes to make sure he wasn't blinded. The attack's strength was palpable through the protection: definitely something that would break drapion's Protects and push Swampert's to the limit.

He regained vision of the battle to see that his Pokémon had split up. Drapion had gone past the druddigon and swampert and looked to try and get at the dragonair while it was recovering from the powerful attack, without too much success. A jump to try and grab it failed miserably, but the Dragon Rage that was sent back was outright blocked by a swift Night Slash.

Swampert and druddigon were deadlocked. Bright green slashes met powerful punch-like blocks that forced the Dragon-type to get as good as it gave. Both of them were only focused on their direct opponent. and drapion thought he saw an opening to exploit, going in for a Night Slash from behind.

The druddigon adjusted its feet and then swung itself to its left. Drapion suddenly went flying as the tail slammed into him, while swampert half-stumbled forward. Danny saw a half-block on the Dragon Claw as he followed drapion's flight through the air, straight into a Thunder from the dragonair.

Just before he crashed into the shields on the side, though, drapion made a grab for the dragonair through the electricity and found his mark. Dragonair was yoinked along, and momentum transferred so that it, too, slammed into the shields, and both Pokémon went down onto the ground, where drapion was able to land a good two or three hits with his claws before the lithe Pokémon could slither away. A Pin Missile salvo sent after it missed, but it did force some contortions that would keep it from attacking swampert for the moment.

Somehow, Danny's starter had found the upper hand. A puddle of water revealed how: Water Gun to the stomach at no range whatsoever was enough to force nearly anything back, but it wouldn't do more than that. "Pull back a bit."

Swampert obeyed, using a localise Bulldoze to unbalance druddigon just long enough to move away. Drapion created a Poison Sting distraction that kept the dragonair away, instead forcing it to use a small body Protect to shield the unprotected back of the land-bound Dragon-type

The manoeuvre did buy him a moment, but then the Gym Leader Pokémon went back on the attack. Druddigon stomped once before lowering his head and rushing forward with its scalp glowing, and Danny also saw the dragonair rush in from above with a glowing tail. Both of them went for swampert. "Protect!"

The shield held without any problems, but dragonair hadn't actually hit it. Instead, it had veered off to the side, where another Hyper Beam was charging, out of easy reach for anyone. The angle told Danny that it was going to go for swampert, who couldn't use Protect, and drapion wasn't nearly close enough to intercede.

"Forward!"

Swampert dove into the druddigon that had been glowing that same blue, and the two started brawling immediately, focusing on making sure that they weren't the one in the path of the Hyper Beam. Drapion added to the fray by launching a Pin Missile into it, and then orange met _that,_ and everything exploded.

Danny lost sight of his Pokémon again, but an immediate blue glow erupting told him that swampert hadn't been knocked out just yet. "Go for it!"

The dust hadn't cleared up yet when he saw a fountain of disrupted water spray out the back end, and druddigon roared in anger, somehow holding its ground. A red glow started to surround it, and drapion, who Danny had noticed to be looking for a flank, decided to rush towards dragonair, who was off to the side and preparing a powerful Twister to send forth at just the right time.

Swampert was going to get knocked out here, Danny knew. The trick was to get druddigon to get knocked out along with him.

Danny's starter let out a cry, and drapion seemingly answered, and as the Outraged druddigon attacked; and the Twister rushed forward, the scorpion-like Pokémon jumped up in the air as swampert put as much force as he could into creating an Earthquake. It unbalanced druddigon just a bit, jaw and claws hitting tougher hide instead of weaker skin. Icy blue washed over the Unovan Pokémon just before the Twister hit, and then a Pin Missile also joined it, creating another explosion; more volatile than the one from Hyper Beam.

Drapion ducking an Iron Tail in the distance was all Danny saw before his vision was taken away, _again._ This time, blue suffused the explosion, but it died out pretty fast, so at least swampert had been knocked out, but he had to wait for the dust to clear. Off to the side, he saw dragonair being flung away, but it righted itself before hitting anything.

Then the referee stuck a flag up. The blue flag: the one for Danny's opponents. "Swampert is knocked out," she stated as drapion and dragonair moved away from each other, eager to put distance between them while the fight was paused. "And druddigon is knocked out as well," she added as the other flag went up. "Both Pokémon were knocked out simultaneously."

Not that it mattered, Danny realised as he returned his starter, whispering thanks for withstanding a Hyper Beam, an Outraged druddigon, myriad Dragon Claws, a few Twisters, and whatever that blue attack had been. There was only one option for him to send out in a fight with this much power being thrown around, and Reginald knew that as well.

"Froslass, get those dragons!"

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _In Johto. Targets are known to be in Blackthorn at the moment. We are some days out, taking the southern mountain range to avoid easy detection. Next place of interest is Carnation for targets; we'll seek to intercept._

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Funny story: my pre-writing draft for the Gym Battle had both other Pokémon getting knocked out first, but then the scene started making sense for it to be this way.

I'm hoping this comes out without any issues with paragraph spacing... The Lake of Rage scene went weird, and though I know why it happened, I'm not quite sure how to make that unhappen without the solution of manually entering in FFN.


	13. Knowledge Is Power

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 12:** **Knowledge Is Power**

Flygon was Reginald's choice, and that made Danny instantly wary. They were some of the dragons most vulnerable to cold. "Careful," he told his Pokémon as the referee gave the sign to restart. "Poke and prod for a bit."

Froslass, as was her habit, summoned Hail to aid her on the battlefield, but the dragonair immediately put paid to that, nullifying the weather with a glowing light from the bell underneath her chin, but not summoning anything else either. Sunny Day would have been bad, Danny knew, but neutral was fine.

Flygon, meanwhile, continued where druddigon had left off, moving forward and trying to get in physical with a Dragon Tail. He flew low by the ground, aiming for drapion, who looked ready and eager to meet him head-on.

Claws met tail, and the two Pokémon became so tangled with each other that any thoughts Danny and froslass had about sending an Ice Beam in to freeze flygon in place went away: there was too much chance to hit drapion instead. "Split up," Danny ordered as he saw a Poison Fang meet be met with a burst of Dragonbreath. "Don't let dragonair use Thunder."

Froslass could do that, immediately heading for the floating snake-like Pokémon and intercepting a Thunderbolt – not powerful enough for a Thunder – with a timely Shadow Ball that short-circuited the electricity on contact. Clair's Pokémon flew up, and froslass followed, charging up an ice Beam as she did so, and Danny turned away from the aerial fight to check on the tussle on the ground.

He noticed two things. One: the ground was shaking thanks to an Earthquake that drapion really didn't like, and two: there was a puncture wound near flygon's midriff, with purple oozing out of it. "Nice work! Don't give him time to recover!"

Dragons had some of the more resilient physiologies of all Pokémon, and given time, they could tough it out against most poisons. Not every Dragon-type could, but Danny was pretty sure any one of this skill level would be able to.

Another brawl broke out, Dragon Tails and Dragon Claws meeting Poison Fangs and Night Slashes, and Danny had trouble spotting who was getting out ahead when a pair of attacks came in from above as both of the other Pokémon decided now was a good time to throw an attack down to help their partner.

The Thunder and Ice Beam met just above the pair of Pokémon on the ground, and the resulting explosion forced them apart, flygon zipping off and folding wings around himself to shield from the biting cold that was coming in. Drapion was a bit worse off, unable to move as quick, but he took less of the attacks and was sturdy in general. His armour still looked intact. "Distract flygon," Danny told him as he tracked Reginald's Pokémon through the arena, keeping half an eye on froslass – who had resumed her attempts to hit the lithe blue Pokémon – as well.

The reason for flygon turned out to be a ferocious Flamethrower that nearly scorched froslass; Protect coming in at the last possible second, and a clever Poison Sting making sure dragonair couldn't follow up with something as she had to get out of the way or risk being poisoned herself. "Get down, prepare Blizzard."

The fight needed to stay in range of drapion. Blizzard forced dragonair and flygon to come in close to try and disrupt the attack, and flygon took the bait. One good jump by drapion saw both of them go to the ground yet again, drapion landing on the bottom but also managing to prod a claw into flygon's thigh.

Dragonair, meanwhile, had gone in close to froslass to stop her from finishing her Blizzard up, and froslass responded eagerly, landing an Ice Fang on the blue Pokémon, but paying for it as a Thunderbolt ran through her for a moment. It made her let go, and dragonair raced off to get away from the Ice-type, but she gave chase, charging up an Ice Beam as she went.

"Below you!"

Without looking, Froslass sent the Ice Beam down instead of straight, and just as Danny had planned, it was a direct hit on the two fighting Pokémon on the ground. Drapion had managed to be at the bottom again, and so flygon took the first hit, to visible pain and displeasure. It kicked off from drapion, summoning some of the debris as he did so, launching a hail of stones in froslass's general direction – which hit because she was forced to stay in place as a Thunder Wave temporarily locked her muscles up.

She was fine, though. "Focus flygon," Danny told his Pokémon as he kept track of it. "The poison is doing work."

An Icy Wind dropped the air temperature by several degrees, and Flygon sent out a Fire Blast to dispel the cold and to try and get back at froslass. She saw it coming, though, slipping into intangibility and heading down to meet up with drapion, who had just fired a Pin Missile that did absolutely nothing except force dragonair to move.

Flygon was visibly nearing the end of its tether, its flight hesitant and leaning in over in such a way to protect the wound on its midriff from exposure to an attack. A Flamethrower managed to block an Ice Beam from doing too much damage, but then another wave of Pin Missile got through, at least two of them striking right where it hurt, and down went flygon.

Dragonair was still fairly healthy as far as Danny could tell, but so was froslass, and drapion could still do a bit, even if the fight took place all the way up in the rafters. "Split up now, force it to defend from multiple angles."

Two on one was rarely fair, and this was much the same. Dragonair was forced to stay on the defensive, with only Twister as a move that could hinder Danny's Pokémon at the same time. It did use that attack judiciously, turning the arena into a whirlwind of dust and furrows, but slowly but surely, it lost ground and height as froslass methodically pelted it with Ice Beams, Ice Shards, and the occasional Confuse Ray just to shake things up, while Pin Missiles made way for Poison Stings as the dragon dropped lower and lower.

Then drapion saw an opportunity to grab dragonair as it was defending against an Ice Beam with a Thunderbolt, and he jumped upwards, trying to reach the blue Pokémon with his arms. Sudden movement caused that to fail, and a desperate attempt to reach it with his tail ended as he suddenly cried out in pain mid-air, without an attack hitting him, and his landing was very hard.

The Twister that followed knocked him out, but it was the distraction froslass needed to open up the full ice box as a heavy Icy Wind tore at dragonair. it continued for several seconds, and when the blue Pokémon did not attack in return, Clair returned her Pokémon.

Danny pumped his fist as he returned drapion with the other hand; froslass floating on the way down. "Drapion, you rock," he told his Poison-type earnestly. "Take a good long rest, you deserve it so much." He looked up, spotting froslass hovering nearby. "And I can always trust you. Thank you."

"Trust is an accurate summary," Reginald spoke up from nearby, making Danny jump. When had the Gym Leader crossed the room? "Beforehand, Clair and I agreed on a division of styles. My Pokémon would be more suited towards brawling; hers towards attacks from range. I did not expect both of mine to be knocked out before Clair's dragonair."

"Do you know which Pokémon she would have used second?"

"A noivern. Hurricane and Flamethrower to counteract the froslass Reginald warned me about," the female Gym Leader spoke up. "You have excellent instincts for fighting with multiple Pokémon. The ability to identify small advantages and switch priorities with a millisecond's notice is valuable in this format. A Rising Badge well earned and some excellent footage."

Danny accepted the badge and looked on the clock hanging nearby. It hadn't been too long either. "How long is it to the Dragon Holy Land?"

"It will be a while until they return. Lance's challenge will take more time, and I believe he wanted to speak about matters prior, rather than after, the battle,." Reginald revealed.

"What is Max going to face?"

Reginald told him, and Danny felt his jaw fall open. It was something that suited Max a lot – just as Double Battles suited him – and as he realised that, he had to ask. "Are you giving us challenges tailored to us?"

Both Gym Leaders smiled; Reginald enigmatically, Clair confidently. "The best battles I've had have been with young Dragon Clan Trainers, making their way in the world," the Blackthorn Leader said. "When you know someone, you can push them beyond what they might think they're capable of themselves, or punish their mistakes harder if the fight is acrimonious."

 **~§~~§~~**

Lance's flygon dropped Max off in what had to be the Dragon Holy Land, near a weathered and marked building. Flowers and low vegetation surrounded it, with no big trees in sight. A bunch of Pokémon bustled around as well: furret, oddish, aipom, too many to count. Even a small group of stantler were nearby; the normally skittish Pokémon drinking from the nearby lake and only giving him passing glances.

Then Max turned towards the shrine itself again, this time focusing on the man casually leaning against it. "Not as beautiful as it once was, perhaps," Lance said as he moved forwards, "but there is beauty and resilience in rebirth." He gestured down a path. "Come."

A thousand questions ran through Max's mind as he hurried towards Lance, having to take three steps to keep up with Lance's two. "Why are we here? Couldn't we fight at the Gym?" he asked as they rounded a corner, into an area that hadn't been burned before, with trees suddenly reaching into the heavens. The leaves shielded them from most of the sun, leaving the forest almost cool.

"An interesting question to ask," Lance offered cryptically. "You're not wondering about why I am doing this?"

"It's part of your title, isn't it?" Max replied. "Wallace and Steven both used to do a good amount of challenges every year. The Champion before Cynthia too." And damn, he'd forgotten the name.

"Tyler did do so, yes," Lance said, helping Max out. "But did your school assignment note that the Kanto-Johto Grand Champion generally doesn't?" He gestured for silence. "I've done a couple, either to replace Clair or to cover long-term absences like the one in Viridian that got Ash the invite into the Battle Frontier. But even so, I've done less than half of Steven and Wallace in the same period. To answer your question, however… We go here because of the challenge I'm setting _you."_

"What is it?"

"You'll hear in a moment," Lance said, and Max could hear the smirk. "We need to talk first. About Hoenn."

That soured Max's mood. Nothing good came of people wanting to talk about Hoenn these days. "Do we have to?" he asked, barely managing to keep a whine out of his voice.

"Unfortunately, yes," Lance said, and Max could hear the regret. "I suppose this location is as good as any. Can you send your gardevoir out?"

"Is this why Clair asked me if I had gardevoir on me?" Max asked in return as he tapped the capsule on his belt. The Psychic-type came out, bowing slightly when he saw Lance, before joining Max in sitting against a tree. A quick look up revealed that no, there weren't any kakuna nests here.

"Partially. But more on that later." Lance sat down as well, lotus-style like Max had seen him do before. "Did you know your sister is in Johto?"

The mention of that traitor caused a stab of anger, but Max ignored it, and gardevoir bringing his arm to Max's helped as well. "I'm not surprised she is. She did like it here. She stayed after watching the Grand Festival? Beach holiday?"

"She did stay in Olivine first," Lance confirmed. "But last night, she checked into the Pokémon Centre in Mahogany. Reginald and I think it is not unlikely she's trying to find you."

"And drag me back to Hoenn? Pah," Max scoffed. "Both Danny and I are better Trainers and I know her style inside out. She doesn't stand a chance against _either_ of us, let alone _both."_

"In a straight fight, you are likely right. Though I've not seen her battle in a long while, just the Mega capability alone would tip the scales," Lance agreed gravely. "But all it takes is one moment of inattention for her beautifly to paralyse you or put you to sleep. Battles need not be won through force alone."

Anger and embarrassment warred within Max. He had completely forgotten beautifly. He wasn't sure how, either, but before he could say that, he felt the psionic touch of gardevoir wanting to speak up. _"How likely is 'not unlikely'?"_ was the question.

Max learned two things. One: gardevoir could apparently mimic voice and pitch near-perfectly in mental speech. Two: Lance had also heard the question, if Max read the nod right.

It caused the Grand Champion to think for a spell, and Max waited patiently as the trees and leaves rustled in a sudden breeze. "Probable, but nowhere near certainty," Lance eventually said. "It could be a regular holiday, though I am unaware whether she has visited this area before, or she could be looking for a rare Pokémon only found around here."

Max ran through the path May had taken through Johto the last time. "I don't think she went to the north-east," he eventually said. "She got a Ribbon in Violet, and one in some town just east of Ecruteak, but the others weren't here. It's possible," he conceded. "Don't know about Pokémon. She doesn't catch a lot of them. An Ice-type would be something for her, though, so… I don't know." He sighed. "We'll expand watch duty."

"Would that someone your age only needed to watch for nocturnal Pokémon, but such are the times," Lance said sadly. "The other point has to do with the original group that gardevoir belonged to. Satellite data revealed that a battle of some kind took place roughly where we know them to have been."

" _When?"_ gardevoir interrupted Lance, urgency obvious.

"We're working on narrowing it down, but the leading guess is mid-December. Why?"

Max felt relief radiate out, but only because he was sitting next to the Psychic Pokémon. _"The leaders of the congregation had planned to leave the island around the full moon after I left,"_ gardevoir sent. _"I believe your estimate is around the full moon after_ that?"

"It is," Max confirmed for his Pokémon. "But what could've caused it otherwise? If it's visible on satellites, I mean..."

"Questions I don't have answers to, sadly," Lance offered. "At least it seems likely no members of your gr… congregation were involved and captured."

That was something, Just thinking about finding another kirlia in a glass cage was enough to make Max's stomach twist in anger and disgust, and he felt it mirrored. "Wish we could just throw the ones responsible into prison. And throw away the key."

"I certainly understand the sentiment," Lance said, making to get up. Max did the same as a dragonite appeared in on the path. "Now, one last thing. About five minutes that way, you'll find where we'll battle. I am going to go ahead to make sure everything has been set up right, and I'll wait for you there. However," he said as he held up a hand to forestall Max. "This will not be a normal Gym Battle. Insofar as we have already established."

Was that dry wit? Surely not, Max felt: Lance didn't have a humorous bone in his body. "Something like an eighth badge challenge?"

"It could be one in concept, but you're familiar with it from elsewhere, to a degree." Lance put a hand on the dragonite's side, near the right wing. "The rules are as follows. One: you _have_ to use both gardevoir and Mega manectric, as well as one other Pokémon of your own choice. Two: you cannot switch out. And three: this is the one Pokémon you'll face."

The Dragon Pokémon standing next to Lance let out a fiery snort; the embers not even reaching the ground. Then, it bowed, its gentle cry resonating, and Max returned the bow on instinct as thoughts raced through his mind at a hundred miles a minute.

One question kept popping up. Was this one of the dragonite he used in Grand Champion challenges or not? Max had read an interview at some point, and the paragraph in which Lance had revealed he'd actually raised five dragonite in total was vivid in his mind's eye, as well as the later mention that he only used three of them in his role.

"Take a moment to think," Lance said as he mounted the dragonite. "And I look forward to seeing what you can do."

The rapid rise sent up a small wave of dust that collided with Max's shins, but he didn't follow the dragonite's movement. Instead, he sat back down, mostly because he didn't trust his legs to keep him standing in that moment.

" _What astounded you so?"_

Gardevoir was curious, more than anything, no doubt reading Max's every emotion in detail, not that you needed empathy to read the shock and surprise. "That I get this challenge. Think it's the biggest regular battle I've had. And the most difficult."

" _Yet, as you are fond of pointing out..."_

"I know, I know." Max shook his head in amusement. "That's the thing. The dragonite could be one of his absolute best Pokémon. And if it is… He thinks we're capable of defeating it?"

" _She seemed eager to find out."_

Max chuckled softly. The famous need for dragons to fight. Even Serena's altaria had gotten in on it to some degree. "Well, it seems rude to keep a lady waiting." He jumped to his feet, finding his legs strong enough. "At least I was already planning for both you and manectric to have a battle here." And the third he wasn't sure about y… Hang on. "Lance used two dragonite in Geosenge: one was good with electricity, and one specialised in Ice-type attacks. Could it be..."

Gardevoir sent the equivalent of a clueless shrug, though Max was also pretty sure a bit of that was exaggerated, and they started moving down the quiet path.

If it was a hint, then his third Pokémon was a problem. Ninjask was fast, but trying to slash through dragonskin was hard enough when the opponent wasn't able to match airspeed. Swinub was weak at range. Sceptile was nearly worse, and all three of them were weak to Fire. Shelgon was the last Pokémon he had with him, which was a double-edged sword.

But maybe that was what he needed. A weak point thanks to some Dragon-type attack being very effective was useful. It had been how he had defeated Korrina in the same challenge, after all. It would be hard, but it was something to work towards.

They soon found the path sloping up, and a sudden end to the trees revealed a small plateau in the middle of the forest. It was level with the middle of the trees' crowns, give or take, and Max noticed that lines had been etched into the rock.

And that the rock on the inside of those lines was pockmarked and scarred. Whatever happened here, it involved heavy battling.

That was to figure out later. Dragonite and Lance were waiting in the middle of the arena, and after a moment's thought, Max sent manectric and shelgon out. "One on three," Max quickly told them. "That's our opponent, right there."

Manectric barked happily, and shelgon rumbled in anticipation. Together, all of them moved up to where Lance was, over lumpy, but stable, ground. "One of two arenas the Dragon Clan uses," the Dragon Master told Max. "One of them is going to record the battle, if you don't mind."

A glance left showed the same young adult that had brought Max and Danny to Blackthorn standing alongside a trio of mr. mime. "Who's going to watch it?"

"Just the six of us. Danny, Clair, Reginald are the other three," Lance explained when Max didn't respond immediately. "The other Gym Battle is also being recorded, and that will suffice for the Dragon Clan training."

"He's also doing referee duty?"

"We are both capable enough to recognise when our Pokémon are unable to fight," Lance replied, smiling down at Max. "And I believe we have covered everything that needed to be covered prior to our battle. Now then, Max of Petalburg. Show me what you've got."

Shelgon and dragonite stayed behind as the rest vacated the field. The moment manectric crossed the etched lines, blue flared in front of Max's eyes, coalescing into a shield that made the skin on his lower arms tingle from the sheer intensity. So strong was it that it tinted the field in blue even after staying in place.

He took one last deep breath. Dragonite was still on the ground, leaving the first move to shelgon. "Dragon Pulse."

Shelgon spat out three globes of green-blue draconic energy, giving spin to the first and third and sending the second straight at his opponent's head. She swivelled on her feet and jumped into the air in response, using her tail to attempt to return the last ball to sender. It didn't do so thanks to the spin that had been on it and shelgon moving, but it was a close-rung thing, throwing up dirt and sand to block shelgon's sight of his opponent.

She came into view earlier than expected, going into close range with a Fire Punch. The Protect that shelgon hastily threw up deflected the punch, but before he could do more, dragonite had already flown off, turning around basically in place, launching a wide fan of orange fire that failed to dissipate once it hit the ground nowhere near shelgon.

Then she unleashed the Hurricane, turning small flames into a firestorm that engulfed the entire arena in the blink of an eye.

Shelgon hadn't been caught out, encasing himself in a ball of flame of his own making. Between that and general resilience to fire, he weathered the blaze, and with a cry loud enough to make it through the barrier, Max's dragon launched himself forwards; the green of Dragon Rush bleeding into the fiery shield.

Dragonite dodged the jump with ease, but as shelgon landed, nearly skidding into the shields, Max saw him take the energy that he had been surrounded with, transferring it into an unstable Dragon Rage that was quickly fired off, hitting dragonite head-on as she had been coming in for some attack.

The sound of annoyance was met with a roar of challenge, and Max felt his stomach soar. He had been the first to land a true hit.

Retribution followed swiftly. Lance's Pokémon soared past a blast of Flamethrower and slammed a Dragon Tail into shelgon hard enough to cause him to skid back, following it up with a Fire Punch that glanced off white scales before making off, dodging a Dragon Pulse in the process.

The second one shelgon shot after her hit, though, and once again, Max's Pokémon roared a challenge, stirring something within Max himself.

This time, the roar was answered, in sound and in attack. A deep breath in, and then orange spewed out, forming a blazing-hot symbol. The Fire Blast forced a Protect, engulfing shelgon whole and blocking him from Max's sight. An explosion happened soon after, but it wasn't the Fire Blast that had done it, and as shelgon landed nearby, Max saw a crater in front of where his Pokémon had stood, orange fire dissipating slowly within. Dragon Rage, no doubt.

The distance was bad. "Fake Dragon Rush."

The trick had worked before, and it did so again. Dragonite dodged out of the way with ease, thanks to being able to fly, but the moment shelgon was underneath her, he spun on his axis, using the momentum to fire off the Dragon Rage that he had surrounded himself with. He had to roll, and to take a Flamethrower as dragonite weathered the attack, but he was fine, immediately retaliating with a powerful Dragon Pulse.

It was a near miss; dragonite diving past the globe and heading straight for shelgon. Flamethrower caused her to swerve upwards with a powerful flap of wings, kicking dust up and the flame down, and she created another Fire Blast mid-flight; the symbol rotated because of it.

Shelgon blocked it with Protect on instinct, but danger flashed through Max as he did so. The fire didn't engulf the shield at all this time; not even half. "Dragon Pulse, block!" he yelled, guessing what was about to come.

He was right. A Hyper Beam tore through the air, and Max saw a Dragon Pulse slip out late – too late. It was powerful enough to block and explode instead of being obliterated, but an explosion right in shelgon's face still sent him up into the air, and dragonite was prepared for that, snatching him up with ease and taking him up high. Furious cries and flares of Dragon Rage didn't deter her, and once she was about eighty feet in the air, she threw shelgon straight down before summoning a bright orange orb that split into several smaller ones, all converging on where shelgon landed with a loud thud.

A glimmer of green blocked at least four shots as far as Max could see through the dust, and somehow, his Pokémon was still in it; launching an angry barrage of Dragon Pulses straight up into the air; small but potent.

The tail deflected a third, which then blocked another third, and most of the rest missed, but at least some got through. Max glanced down at shelgon, only seeing his back, but also seeing him heaving, reeling from the powerful attacks and blunt trauma.

Not a hair on his head thought about forfeiting this round. He'd have a snippy shelgon on his hands for weeks. "Hang in there!"

Dragonite flew up, but then looped down, heading straight for shelgon with Dragon Claw at the ready. Her left claw sliced through the Flamethrower that shelgon shot into her path, parting the flame, and the right swung back and hit shelgon as she came within range.

And that _was_ the end of it for shelgon. He was still conscious, but Max could tell he was losing that battle, and so he returned his dragon. "You did great," he whispered into the pokéball before shrinking it and enlarging another in one fluid motion.

Time to bring the thunder.

Mega Evolution was almost an afterthought in effort, but Max couldn't – and didn't want to – suppress the grin that mirrored the happiness and the feeling of being alive that came with it. "No holding back, girl."

A blinding yellow-white bar of Thunder shot out, static sizzling before the shields intensified further; the thrum that had become background noise coming to the fore once more. The attack missed, crashing into the barrier near Lance and causing them to flare up as a second Thunder shot out, this one passing under dragonite as she flew up, leaving the safety of the ground by necessity.

Now she couldn't ground herself, or do something to interrupt what manectric was planning to do, and an Electric Terrain snapped into place immediately; a circle from which manectric was not going to move unless absolutely forced to or until the power that she had put into it was exhausted.

A Flamethrower was intercepted with contemptuous ease, a sharp Thunderbolt enough to cause a bright blue flare and a harsh, angry hum. Dragon Rage partially met the same fate; only a few of the flames making it down, and not nearly enough to cause a firestorm with the Hurricane, but dragonite went for it regardless, feeding the fires expertly with the gale-force winds.

The fiery winds impacted on manectric channelling a Thunder straight through to the dragon causing the winds. Little pinpricks of flame and electricity were a great trade for getting an unmitigated attack in, and it showed in the reaction, which was for dragonite to fly up high, straight into the sun's path to hinder manectric's aim, but the plan was obvious anyway.

The Electric-type was a match for it. Another bar of Thunder came out, blocking and then overpowering a Hyper Beam – elation surging through the bond as it did so, and dragonite barely got away unshocked.

"Let her come. Far shield Fire Blast."

Flamethrower and Hyper Beam would be blocked. Dragon Rage would be too, and the firestorm left the dragonite having to fan the fire in one place and vulnerable. That just left Fire Blast and up-close combat for options that dragonite had to deal with manectric, and that last would be fighting on their own terms; just the way Max liked it.

Blocking the Fire Blast took a visible chunk out of the electricity on the ground as manectric did as Max had told her to. That exhausted all the ranged options Max had seen the dragonite use.

Dragon Rush was a move he hadn't seen, but it wasn't unexpected. Manectric jumped into motion, but on a flat arena, there wasn't anything she could hide behind, and after a first pass missed, a second fly-by hit as the dragonite's tail slammed into manectric's flank, sending her flying – at the cost of a Spark being discharged into it. The attack caused the flight to waver, and the dragonite to grunt as she righted herself near Max, but then she shot up, letting the Thunderbolt hit the barrier right in front of Max, temporarily taking his vision away.

Two attacks – one Thunderbolt, one Thunder, Max assumed from sound cues – were used on manectric's end before his eyes ended up working again. A trail of fire across the ground revealed that dragonite had tried to set up for another Hurricane combination, but the Thunder had seemingly stopped it, as she had instead landed.

Max gauged the Electric Terrain. It was basically spent. "Discharge next."

A prickle told Max that manectric had understood. Dragonite came in close again, going for a Dragon Rush because it had worked before, and this time, manectric jumped over the dragon as she unleashed a torrent of electricity in all directions, drawing the limited reserves from the terrain upwards as well. It caused dragonite to fully crash-land, and with a howl, manectric got onto the dragon, eager to find skin contact to deliver electricity.

But the Grand Champion's Pokémon was _fast._ She managed to shift around enough that she was able to grab manectric by one of the spikes as she jumped in, prompting an angry and hurt yelp and a stab in the bond. In one fluid motion, the dragon sent manectric skywards, hurtling through the air, and a precisely timed Dragon Rage hit just as manectric was close to the ground again, interrupting her from bracing against the hard landing.

But it took more than that to knock manectric out, and she started moving, first slipping into a Quick Attack while subtle tugs told Max her follow-up plan.

Dragonite grossly misread the incoming attack, as it wasn't just a Quick Attack, or even a Quick Attack and Spark combination that Lance might have told her about. It was Quick Attack and Discharge; and for the first time, the dragonite howled in pain instead of just anger. A Dragon Claw managed to send manectric flying off, but she landed on her feet, immediately throwing out another bar of Thunder that was only blocked by a Flamethrower to explode the electricity, causing a hot and static shock wave to pass over the field.

Dragonite slipped into the air, avoiding a Thunderbolt and flying up high, preparing a Draco Meteor as she went up. A dozen projectiles swerved outwards, and manectric started the run to dodge them all as they fell.

She did avoid all of them, but as she took a turn left, a Hyper Beam suddenly cut her off, literally, not impacting her, but causing her to trip over the newly made furrow in the ground, and before she could get up, the dragonite was upon her, taking her into the air. "Discharge!" Max yelled after manectric had started doing that, but somehow, Lance's Pokémon was ignoring it as she flew higher and higher, before throwing manectric downwards, like she had done to shelgon earlier. Then she dove as well, going in with a Dragon Claw as Max's Pokémon cratered into the ground.

The impact nearly took the breath out of the bond, but it didn't break. Max could feel the desperation settling in as his faithful canine summoned every last ounce of electricity she had left, and then some, to try and stop the dragonite from knocking her out.

It hit, but it turned out that having a Pokémon four times Max's weight land on you was pretty bad as well, and the bond broke apart as dragonite climbed out of the crater she had just made larger, looking dusty and more than a bit battered.

But anything would've knocked manectric out at that point.

Max took a deep breath, slipping through the barrier to return manectric – the ground blocked his attempts to do so from the sidelines – and took note of dragonite while he could.

Her breathing was heavy, but not laboured, and she flapped her wings demonstratively as the energy went out to return her opponent. It kicked up a lot of dust and some earth as well, the grains clattering onto the ground.

A deep breath and a swipe at his forehead later – the bond breaking and the heat combined to have taken a lot out of him – he slipped back to his spot, draining half of the water he had remaining in a continuous swig.

He felt good about his odds.

Gardevoir gave a gentle psionic squeeze as he came out, and then, without warning, threw a Psychic attack that Max only noticed because he was watching. The barrier blocked the colour somehow.

Lance's Pokémon blocked it with a Dragon Rage before diving through the explosion and trying to grab the physically fragile gardevoir, but a quick snap-Teleport stopped that. The Embrace Pokémon reappeared where dragonite had just been, sending a quick Disarming Voice over to dissuade dragonite from turning around.

She went up instead, throwing down waves of Dragon Rage fire as she went, but when she went back down, she was met with a sudden expulsion of psionic energy raging against the Hurricane feet away from her. The winds turned in on themselves, buffeting the dragon, but also holding the Psychic at bay long enough to make a get-away.

"Spike," Max whispered as gardevoir reappeared near him for just a moment to reconvene.

The talk had consequences, though, as it allowed a full firestorm to be unleashed. Max saw gardevoir start to levitate as he tapped into the well of power inside, creating a double-layered bubble shield. It wasn't Protect, though – it was better.

The flame met the bubble, penetrating the first porous barrier and then crashing on the impenetrable second. Within seconds, gardevoir was lost to the eye as orange-red surrounded him; more and more of the dragonite's attack making its way into the bubble.

For a brief moment, Max feared it was too much to handle, but then he scoffed at himself. It was early on, and if there had been any uncertainty, there would have been a Protect instead of this.

The air cleared, and Max managed to get a glance over at the dragonite, though she was too far away to read the expression.

And then gardevoir returned fire.

The violent attack was whirling inside the barrier, and by opening a tiny opening, and with the help of copious psionic direction, the attack went return to sender in a far more concentrated form. It scorched dragonite's lower half as she took off before crashing on the barrier at the opposite end, blocking Lance's sight for a moment.

A Fire Blast made its way over to gardevoir from up on high, but that was easy prey for gardevoir, who dissipated the attack by spiking its core. The spike continued, impacting, and only tendrils of flame licked at gardevoir.

So far, so good.

A Dragon Rush did nothing at all except throw up dirt and dust as the flying Pokémon passed through at great speed, trying to use her bulk against the fragile and lighter Pokémon, but Teleport was faster, and by now, Max knew gardevoir had read dragonite's signature well enough to sense her everywhere she went. He had no idea how Lance and his Pokémon would try to stop the endless dodging and the wearing down, but they would have to try within the next few attacks, or attrition would just win.

It started with a Draco Meteor, way up in the air, higher than she had gone before except for the times she'd slammed Max's Pokémon down. She flew around as she summoned the attack, avoiding gardevoir's attempts at grabbing her in exchange for taking a longer time to summon it.

It was larger than ever before, turning into a veritable meteor shower, but even twenty of them wouldn't hit gardevoir. She followed them downwards as she cloaked herself in a Dragon Rush, but she didn't go straight for gardevoir, confusing Max for a moment. She couldn't predict where he was going to Teleport…

Then the meteors landed, and immediately, he understood part of the stratagem. Snap Teleports were based on sight, and all the Draco Meteor fragments threw up so much earth and dust that Max couldn't see anything any longer, and neither could gardevoir beyond a few feet. He saw a quick rush of air somewhere to his right where gardevoir was making sure he could see something, but dragonite wasn't visible anywhere.

Then all of the dust and earth suddenly rushed outwards into the barriers, and Max had but a moment to see why.

Gardevoir had been caught, and was forced to hold dragonite at bay psionically. The dragon was mere feet away; too close to Teleport – he would literally be hit in the split second it took him.

The earth fell fast, and Max saw the full bind that gardevoir had inflicted on the dragonite. She was held in place, with her tail specifically inches away from delivering a brutal blow to the side, while Max also saw an extra bind around the dragon's mouth, just to make sure that there were no other attacks being mixed in.

The arena was visibly straining under the Psychic powers that gardevoir was putting out, bleeding outwards as he was forced to summon every last bit of his considerable energy towards holding Lance's Pokémon at bay, and as Max saw topsoil being thrown up, he realised that the result of this struggle between the two Pokémon would decide the victor. No more stratagems. No more Teleports. Pure strength of will and body.

Time _felt_ slower as Max waited for the battle to resolve itself. He wished there was a way in which he could help gardevoir; to give him more energy against the titan of battle that they had fought. He wished that dragonite would give up the ghost first, seared by the dragon's flame, shocked by the Mega Evolution's electricity, stopped by sheer Psychic might.

He wished he had seen the strategy coming. It was easy to reconstruct with hindsight – sensing Pokémon was done by their aura, and by suffusing the area with so much draconic energy from Draco Meteor and blocking sight, gardevoir had been flying blind while dragonite had noticed the expulsion of air to let him see more than a foot from his face. She was _good_ , and Max was certain now that it was one of Lance's best Pokémon. There were too many tricks for it not to be. The Hurricane and Dragon Rage combination alone required immense mastery of flame at a level Max wasn't sure Ash's charizard had.

And he came within _inches_ of defeating her, but he knew before it happened that it wasn't enough.

Gardevoir's levitation faltered, then failed, and what had been a tail going into a side, frozen in place, was now a tail going into a shoulder, snapping out of its frozen status. Gardevoir wasn't knocked out by the blow, but an attempt at getting up failed, the push faltering and forcing an arm to the ground.

His powers were all spent, most of them in the span of maybe half a minute.

Max returned him. and as his levitation had faltered near the end, so nearly did Max's knees. A wave of deep, satisfied, fatigue passed through his body, toe to head, burning away disappointment and calling it to the fore at the same time.

He hadn't been able to defeat Lance, but it had been far closer than he had dared dream against one of his ace Pokémon. She had sat down when he hadn't been looking, the direct area around her scorched from the absorbing barrier gardevoir had used, and Lance was moving up to her, walking… _above_ the arena?

Something appeared near Max's own feet, stopping his thoughts, and he saw a small platform hovering above the boundary of the arena. It was a bit more sturdy than what gardevoir tended to make, Max found as he stepped onto it, and the mr. mime responsible extended it in the direction of Trainer and Pokémon in the arena.

Moving was harder than Max had thought. Thighs ached like they'd been shaking from flu, and once, he veered off-course, only for the Pokémon to anticipate it perfectly. His hands trembled when he pulled them up; not a lot, but still visible to Max's imperfect eyes. Sweat also dripped into them, and a quick shake sent it flying everywhere from his wet hair.

"I think that I'm going to borrow Bruno's dugtrio tomorrow," Lance said as Max was maybe twenty feet away. "This field is not fit for anything any longer. We did quite a number on it. In recognition of that, catch."

The first grab for the thrown object missed, but Max had tipped it up a bit, and his left hand managed to get it anyway. He turned the metal around, seeing a Rising Badge. "What?!"

"While dragonite can technically battle still, I am unsure she'll last even a minute at this point," Lance said, patting the orange Pokémon on the back. She responded with a soft and _tired_ cry. "She is past the point at which I would forfeit her in most battles. For all intents and purposes, this battle was a draw, and it is my decision that you get the Rising Badge."

Max held back the acerbic comment that he was thinking of. Lance was one of the few he couldn't do that with. "Thank you, then," he said, before shaking his head as his vision wavered for a moment. "Damn, that took a lot out of me." He reached down, only belatedly realising that the nearly empty bottle of water wasn't there, but it soon flew up.

"First the dragon's resonance, then the connection that comes with Mega Evolution, and finally an empathic Pokémon whose kind are known for bonding with their Trainers; and the two of you go deeper through shared sorrow on top of that. I must admit, you look much like I imagine dragonite feels."

He rolled his eyes on instinct, but there was truth in Lance's words, Max knew. And still… "Wouldn't change it for the world."

"Nor should you," the Grand Champion said cheerfully. "The results are evident. Even with the handicap, it has been a very long time since any official battle has left me so in doubt as to whether I would win or lose. Truth be told, I didn't even know until I saw your gardevoir fail to get up."

Dragonite rose from her sitting position, and with only a second's warning, she hugged Max. Her body was warm, and infused with that unique draconic smell, but there was something primal running underneath.

It was gone as soon as she let go, and the sensation faded in memory as she did so, but from it, Max knew one thing for certain: she had thoroughly enjoyed that battle, with all the respect that came with it. And so he felt empowered to step back and look the dragonite in the eyes. "How much did you hold back on my behalf?"

She took it as he knew she would: well, respect rising. "Mainly using up close combat strategies for shelgon," Lance said, sounding unsurprised that Max had figured it out. "You've collected Winona's and Falkner's badges, and fought yveltal. Another lesson in catching a flying Pokémon seemed inappropriate."

"Good luck trying to catch a dragonite," Max said, a snort escaping him as well. It got him a proud smile from the dragon and a smirk from Lance. "Er, Lance? We're probably flying back, right? Can we leave from here instead of where we landed?"

"Xatu isn't here, I assume," Lance replied, immediately shaking his head. "No, he would have battled. Then yes, I think we'll leave for the Gym."

Dragonite was returned, another came out, as did flygon. "Why the Gym?"

"We have battles to watch. Yours and Danny's." Lance's tone made clear that he was looking forward to that a great deal. "Don't worry about your Pokémon. Clair will probably send one of her dragonair to the Center with a pouch. She does that."

That answered the last question Max had, and without saying anything else, he mounted flygon once again.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Several hours after the flight back, Max and Danny walked into the Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy waved at them as they entered, lifting a tray from out of sight immediately. "Here are your Pokémon," she said as they came close enough to the desk. "Gardevoir, manectric, shelgon on your left, swampert, froslass, drapion on your right. They're mostly healed up, but manectric, gardevoir, and drapion need to take it easy for a few days."

"Planning on it," Danny said as he collected his Pokémon. Max did the same. "Nothing broken?"

"It was just a muscle strain. Rest is the main fix for that now, so if you don't need his help..." Nurse Joy suggested. Chansey piped up as well. "Oh, right. I have to ask: was that the first time drapion had one of those?"

Danny looked at Max, but neither of them could remember that particular injury happening before. "No. Why?"

"If it happens more often, then it's a sign of something systemic and it could turn worse, especially if it's the same cluster of muscles," the nurse explained. "What caused the sprain?"

"Drapion tried to jump up to reach Clair's dragonair. She was a bit too nimble."

A nod from both human and chansey. "Oh, okay. I'm assuming this was all the way of the end of the battle?" Danny confirmed that wordlessly. "It's probably a combination of fatigue, uneven footing, and maybe even just bad luck. It probably won't happen again, but if it does, go talk to one of us," she commanded. "As for you… I've rarely seen Pokémon so spent. Don't be surprised if they spend half their time asleep the coming few days."

That mirrored how Max felt himself. He had recovered a bit, but the mile and a half walk from the Gym to the Center would've been too much for him if Danny hadn't been entirely too perceptive and ordered an ice cream intervention. "I'm guessing manectric won't even need to discharge for a few days?"

"You know more about your discharge pattern, but it's unlikely. Now, off you go. Go celebrate your badges."

Max's heart was set on a shower, but the moment that Danny opened the door to their room, a musical ladder rang through the room. The piano barely made it into the first section of the song before Max pressed the button to accept the call. "Hello?"

"Finally! Been trying to call you three times now!" Evan bellowed from the other end, and Max took the Pokénav away from his ear a bit. He paid for that when his cousin continued in a softer voice. "Are you near Blackthorn?"

"We're in Blackthorn," Max replied. "Got our badges earlier."

"Fuckin' sweet!" Evan exclaimed as Max mouthed his cousin's name to Danny – who rolled his eyes, which told Max that he had figured that part out himself. "Wanna travel together for a bit? I'm like a day or two south-east."

Max wondered for a moment what path would've led to Evan presumably picking up a badge at the Dark-type Gym in that direction, or the Fairy-type Gym almost directly due east from Blackthorn, but he gave it up. "Can probably do that. Danny? Evan wants to travel with us."

"More people to tease you is fine in my book," Danny replied, turning his back on Max as he dove into the pack to find something. Max raised his middle finger anyway as he relayed the answer.

"Cool! There's this town called E-ni-on. E-ne-on? Whatever, find it on a map. I'll go there tomorrow."

And Evan ended the call. Max wasn't sure why his cousin was in such a hurry, or what made him forget the almost obligatory name-calling, but he didn't care. All he wanted was to clean up. He put the Pokénav down, opening his mouth to call dibs on the shower.

Then cloth hit him in the face.

He grabbed the towel on the way down with one hand, automatically adjusting his glasses with the other. "I'll come check if you're still alive in twenty minutes," Danny told him.

Entirely too perceptive, indeed.

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _The Dragon Holy Land is one of Johto's most secretive locales. Access by anything but air is tightly guarded by the Blackthorn Clan and a natural mountain range surrounding the area, and even by air, many of the dragons present are likely to be hostile. Access has always been limited, and it is even more so after a mysterious blaze a few years ago. If you still want to visit this sacred place, a Dragon-type vouching for you is basically a must, so get to training one!_

From: The Trainer's Guide to Johto.


	14. Tips And Tricks

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 13: Tips And Tricks**

"I still don't understand why you invented that whole move," Danny said as helioptile and litwick fed electricity and fire into the barrier that gardevoir had summoned around himself. It was two days after the teens had gotten their Rising Badges, and they had left Blackthorn at dawn, getting about a third of the way to Enion Town before lunch and the heat making walking uncomfortable. They'd stopped near a small stream that looked perfect to spend time in, with large trees casting shadows to keep things bearable while they weren't moving. "It just seems so wasteful."

"Maybe," Max agreed as he saw the attacks mix and explode inside the shield yet again, gardevoir not feeling a thing thanks to the inner barrier. "But that's what we're practising it for."

"Psychic attacks become easier to use and more efficient when you use them a lot, yeah, you've only said it half a dozen times in the last few days," Danny replied, sticking out his tongue when Max poked him in the shoulder. "You realise the last badge we're going for is the Dark-type Gym, right? Not everything can be brute forced like you did against Lance."

"Which is why we're practising it now, so he can be more efficient," Max explained, biting back his agitation. It wasn't deserved – Danny's comment was tongue in cheek – but that didn't stop the annoyance from happening. "It's probably time to stop anyway. Litwick needs rest."

The Ghost-type was immediately returned, its fire flickering out. "Held out longer than last time, I think. Still not sure if the sun helps or hurts, though."

"Write Professor Oak and ask him," Max replied as gardevoir levitated over, helioptile hitching a ride and jumping onto Danny's shoulder. A small spark appeared, but after over two years, both of them were pretty used to static shocks. "If he doesn't know, he'll know someone who does."

Max saw Danny shrug. "Could do that," Danny said, and Max translated it to having to remind Danny that it was an option. "Going to jump in the water now. You coming in?"

His stomach still felt a bit heavy, and sitting in the shadow as they were was very comfortable anyway. "Gonna wait. Find someone else to do splash wars with. Maybe swampert?"

Both of them laughed. "I'll do that in a place where I can't get thrown into the bank or something."

Danny waded into the stream a few moments later, apparently having been wearing swim trunks all day already, and Max threw masquerain in after him on the second attempt. The former Water-type proceeded to pelt his Trainer with bubbles, and peals of laughter reached Max's ears.

Gardevoir settled down near Max's back, broadcasting amusement. _"Playing with water is yet another way in which we are similar,"_ he observed. _"Up to and including throwing water at each other."_

"You could join in anyway. Just don't throw it too hard," Max returned. "Did you do that often with ralts?"

" _In the very lake you first found him in. It was even encouraged."_ Max turned around, with an eyebrow raised. _"Practice. Water is forgiving and fun."_

The teenager wasn't sure how he had missed something that obvious, but it was as genius as it was simple. Something to keep in mind if he was going to raise another Psychic-type. "What other ways do you think we're similar in, then?"

He felt some surprise creeping in; gardevoir clearly not caring about keeping a lid on his emotions. That had been different before. _"As a whole or as individuals?"_

"Both?" Max asked as he made sure to pay full attention. The Psychic-type was incredibly perceptive, and learning stuff was always good.

The reply got him a wide smile, just a bit rueful as well, judging by what Max felt. _"The older protect and teach the younger until they're ready to be on their own, living in groups. The younger they are, the more the teaching is couched in fun activities, and the more they are sheltered from the world at large and its perils."_

That sounded logical enough. "And as individuals?"

" _Some humans or Pokémon are good at one thing and are encouraged to be like that. Like your friend and her drawing skills, or my lack of skill at Fairy-type moves."_

"But wouldn't that be the same in other groups of Pokémon?"

" _I don't know,"_ gardevoir replied, honesty radiating off both the words and his emotions. _"Perhaps in some?"_

Max shrugged. It was as good an answer as he could come up with in the heat, and probably outside of it too. Human-Pokémon interaction like what they were doing was rare; telepathy being limited to only a few Pokémon. Lucario was really the only one he could think of that wasn't a Legendary. "Not sure who I could ask… Houndour are pack Pokémon, but most of mine were on their own when we met."

It was sudden; a question arising fully grown in his mind, instantly making Max uneasy. A moment later, he realised the why of that: he wasn't certain if he wanted to know the answer to that question.

" _What is on your mind all of a sudden?"_

Of course the empathic Pokémon next to him would detect it immediately.

The genie was out of the bottle now, though. It was the kind of question he needed to know the answer to. "Why did you end up leaving Izabe? Why make your way to Littleroot?"

" _Ah_ ," gardevoir replied, somehow infusing that one word with enough emotions that Max had trouble distinguishing them all. The strongest was definitely something like… resignation? _"Are you sure you want to know the answer?"_ he asked, followed by an immediate shake. _"No, that is not right. You've held off on asking that question far longer than I had expected."_

"Only just now thought of it," Max admitted. "Kinda used to weird things happening. Too used."

A shriek stopped gardevoir from answering, and they saw Danny being buried in a mountain of bubbles, oblivious to what was being discussed. _"I wanted to see the place where my brother had died for myself. I snuck on board of a boat from Izabe and made my way to that accursed mountain. One girl tried to capture me, but she didn't have anything to keep me tethered to the location. Then… Then they found me."_

Cold fury edged into the gardevoir's voice and emotions, but he didn't identify the ones who had found him. "Who did?"

" _The same group of people who kidnapped my brother in the first place."_

An icy stone plummeted into Max's stomach. "Where?"

" _South-west from a desert-like area. Hills and forest, mostly."_

North of Mauville, maybe north-west. "How did you get away? Ralts..."

" _I was forewarned. Not enough to slip through the chains that held me, but enough to allow me to cross a wide stream. That created distance, and though they chased, I was able to Teleport straight to the mountain."_

That was… quite the distance for a kirlia. "Was that when you evolved?" Max half asked, half guessed.

" _Indeed it was,"_ gardevoir said, and silence fell between them. Max felt the Pokémon had more to say, and he was proven right half a minute later. _"You've said multiple times that you couldn't_ not _do something. That things were_ right _to do. That was why I headed to the laboratory."_

"And if I had declined, like I did with the Egg? How would you have felt?"

" _I only doubted in the moments we saw each other, because the closer to reality something becomes, the more doubt rears its head. I was wrong to do that."_

Max grabbed gardevoir's arm, tugging slightly and making red eyes meet his own. "No. You weren't. I think I would've never trained a ralts if it hadn't been you. Someone who'd understand, even if I don't understand the depth of your sorrow for your brother." He snorted softly, breaking eye-contact. "We're a sorry pair, aren't we?"

" _Perhaps, but neither would have it any other way."_

 **~~§~~§~~**

They had arrived in Enion by ten o'clock, and by eleven o'clock, Danny had gone off to buy new shoes, Max had found Evan still in bed in the Pokémon Center, and one of Professor Oak's assistants had swapped Pokémon around for both older teenagers, sending a letter from Hugo along. "You're really lazy, aren't you?" Max asked as the brown-haired boy finally came out of his room, expecting, and getting, a raised finger. "Just saying it as it is."

"You try being up until four and be awake by eleven," Evan grumbled as he nabbed an apple from the fruit bowl.

"Why exactly were you up until four?" Max said as he followed his taller cousin out the door, into a half overcast day. "Did you capture a nocturnal Pokémon?"

Evan bit into the green fruit before shaking his head. "No," he said, half muffled "Too' a wong nap."

It was all Max could do to not put his hand to the bridge of his nose, for multiple reasons. "I'm not sure how you do it, but..." he said, trailing off, uncertain where to go. "We get up at dawn most of the time."

Evan made a face. "That's why I took the nap." A deep sigh. "I'll try to fix it."

It wasn't like his cousin to be so contrite, but maybe he was annoyed at himself. "Good luck with that," Max said earnestly. "And if you find a trick that works, tell me."

"Huh?"

"You know how everyone says we're supposed to sleep for like nine hours or so?" Max asked. "Yeah, no. Seven and a half at most, except for one day every month that's like nine." To catch up, he had guessed before. "And I sleep light."

"Guess it runs in the family."

Max shook his head. "May never had that. She just slept around the clock if she could get away with it."

"Just the boys then?"

"Maybe?" Max spotted a convenience shop. "Hang on, getting us some food."

He ignored the protests about just having had breakfast and quickly bought some buns, putting them in the in-store microwave to warm them up after having paid for them.

Despite Evan's complaining, the food went down anyway in amiable silence, except for some blowing on fingers because the napkins were way too thin.

Just as Max finished his bun, he spotted what he had been looking for: the town's arena that Nurse Joy had mentioned. There was nobody there, maybe because it was lunchtime and people had gone elsewhere, but that suited him fine. "So, haven't seen your Pokémon in ages. Show me."

Poochyena and butterfree, Max had seen before, and tentacool was also there. He knew of the skunky and the murkrow as well; the bird cawing in protest against the harsh sun that was coming down. Then Evan released a sixth Pokémon, and a chuckle escaped Max. "You too, huh."

"You know I like Dark-types, and this mutt wanted my food like a week ago." His cousin kneeled, scratching the Fire-type under its chin. "Told her she'd have to come with me if she wanted more, so she did. That talkin' tip of yours really works." The houndour put her left front paw in Evan's hand, and he started massaging it.

"Most Pokémon are pretty smart. Probably way smarter than most adults give them credit for." Max also gave the canine a quick scratch on her back, feeling less sinewy muscle than in Danny's. He checked the paw pad that was visible, seeing less calloused skin. "Might have a younger one here."

"How you figure that?" Evan wondered, and Max told him about what he'd just noticed. "Damn. Just from tiny details? And you don't even have a houndour yourself."

The canine let go, walking back to the others, where she started snapping at the poochyena after a short while. Playfully, Max figured. "It's just a guess, but an educated one. I have seen a lot of Pokémon, you know. Close to five years of travelling."

"No wonder you're so good," Evan said as he nudged Max knowingly. "I bet you could do better with my Pokémon than I could."

"Don't underestimate familiarity. I don't know anything beyond the bare basics about the style you've been practising. I can guess at the direction," Max said as he checked out the arrayed Dark-types. "But that's just going off what I know of the Pokémon in general, not specifically. Individual Pokémon differ." He cast a look at Evan, who looked fairly confused. "C'mon, sit down."

His cousin did so, and all of his four-legged Pokémon gathered around his feet, while the flying Pokémon settled down to the side. The skunky's ability to keep its stench under control was pretty good: Max remembered Evan half-complaining about that.

Only half, because he knew the teenager liked fart jokes as much as any boy did.

Max sent out swinub, who looked surprised to be sent out, but was soon lured in by the appeal of fingers running through fur. "All swinub are Ice-types, but that doesn't mean every one of them is good at the same thing. This one's good at doing things up close, but others are better at the long-ranged style. Doesn't mean he can't use Icy Wind, but it's not as effective." A short pause, and Evan seemed to still be with him. "Style is also about working with what your Pokémon can do at first."

"I've been trying to work on disrupting opponents. Smog, skunky's stench, poisons from butterfree, shit like that," Evan said. "'That's why I skipped Fuchsia Gym."

Trying to disrupt a Gym based on ninjas. Max smiled widely, as did Evan a moment later. "That's good. Knowing what your weak points can really help you become better. And having others to help you with that is really useful too." Another smile. "So, you ready to get help until after our next Gym?"

 **~~§~~§~~**

It was chaos. Complete and utter chaos, and Danny was _trying_ to cook in the bedlam. Only xatu being almost prescient in stopping the pot from overspilling from where it was hanging had saved him from annoying burn wounds and more of that. "I should blame you for this, Max," he said as the bespectacled boy sat down near him.

"Sure, but why do you think I sent xatu out?" Max returned, and Danny had no real answer to that. "Besides, it's good endurance practice and fun for them."

The fun consisted of a complete train of quadruped Pokémon running around their camp, ducking over and under and through everything except the fire burning underneath the pot, and Danny was pretty sure that his houndour only didn't do that out of respect for the Trainer. Max had suggested that a half-dozen Pokémon do some kind of tag game with the twist that they had to move around everything.

Every single one of them had agreed, and soon, four Dark-types, one more Fire-type, and an Electric-type were here, there, and everywhere in the camp as they tried to tag each other on the nose. Manectric had soon tagged out, being just a bit too big and too fast for the game to be properly fun, but she seemed content at lying around and surveying her kingdom from atop a nearby rock.

"They're having… Fuuuc… oh," Evan said, switching tact as two houndour unbalanced him, and then xatu kept him from dropping onto the ground while he was carrying some wood for the fire for later on that night. They had battles planned for after dinner, so Max had sent Evan out to get it now while he set up cover for the night and Danny cooked. "Won't they be too tired for battles?"

"Battles aren't fair either," Max said sing-song. "But I wanted to focus on tentacool with you, and have Danny deal with this pack here."

"Why do I have a feeling you're using me as a Pokémon sitter?" Danny said, rolling his eyes.

"Because we are?"

"Arceus save me from the extended Maple family," Danny muttered in response to Evan's teasing statement. "I'll give froslass a workout too, then. And swampert."

There was some sound of confusion – Evan – but also one of understanding. "Ice rink?"

"Sled dogs," Danny corrected as he stirred one last time. "And you're doing the rope on the wood."

At least that was something he could foist off. "Eh, can one of you idiots explain?"

Danny gestured in Max's direction as he busied himself with grabbing bowls for the stew, starting with a half dozen. "Swampert puts a thin layer of water over an area, and froslass immediately snap-freezes it with a Blizzard," Max explained. "Makes it into an ice rink. Good for learning to control movement precisely."

"Precisely? If you're sliding fuckin' everywhere?"

"Exactly," Max said, and Danny could imagine the smirk. "You need to not slide everywhere, so you need to be careful."

Evan accepted that, seemingly. "But wh… Oh, shit, there's an Ice stadium in the Indigo League."

"Give him a medal," Danny said as he started ladling food. "Lots of Trainers aren't great when you change the battlefield up like that. Especially if they're your age. And it means you can use it yourself if you catch something that knows Ice Beam. Hey, Max, it's only sneasel and weavile that are both Dark-type and Ice-type, right?"

"Couple of the Water and Dark hybrids can learn Ice Beam too, I think," Max answered, before taking a deep breath and whistling on his fingers. "Dinner's nearly here!"

For all the chaos they had caused, Danny had to repress a hearty laugh when he saw all five of the running Pokémon line up, sitting back on their haunches as they waited for the food to be placed down. "Is it too much to ask everyone to stay put so I can take a picture?" he asked.

His houndour promptly answered by sneezing hard and falling flat on her belly.

The stew was perfect, as Danny knew it was, and for a while, they ate in blessed silence, except for the occasional munch. Even Evan was silent, but from the way Danny saw the teenager's brow furrow in a thinking gesture – surprisingly similar to Max's, somewhere – he knew it wouldn't last.

Evan had the sense to wait until he had finished the food, which still was first of the three humans. "Danny? How did you figure out your style?"

He hadn't expected that question, and to his embarrassment, Danny didn't immediately remember when he'd started doing it like that. The first success, sure, but when he'd first started using it? "Good question," he said, half commending and half asking that of himself. "Let's see. I learned about styles the night after, well… _that_ ," he said with a nod to Max, who was wearing his birthday shirt from last year. It still fit, thanks to Danny buying it a bit big and Max's growth spurt being slower than a shuckle in showing up. "But I think that was only me starting to actively think about it."

"Actively think?" Evan echoed. "What now?"

"Tons you do is subconscious. You don't think, you just do," Max chimed in. "Just like breathing."

Danny resisted a groan. He regretted introducing Max to that quote he'd found on the internet. "That's about it," he said, waiting for a moment to figure out his thoughts a bit better. "I think… I think most of it was me, and not my Pokémon." He smiled at Evan. "I didn't have a lot of defensive Pokémon back then."

"Mudkip, snorunt, duskull, gulpin," Max said, listing Danny's first four Pokémon. "They're all pretty pants at doing things slowly, except gulpin maybe."

"It was more about waiting for the right time back then," Danny said, remembering the Gym Battle with Terry. "It's the perfect contrast to Max. He wants to create the right time, I wait for the right time. Or waited, anyway."

"Huh?"

"Styles change, and mine did a lot." Danny put his own bowl down. "You want to know what people hated about me in Kalos?" He waited for the cautious nod. "I used a ton of Hail and Sandstorm to make sure that my opponents couldn't see anything. Froslass and helioptile work better in that weather too. The audience didn't really like it, though."

Evan put a hand on his chin in a thinking pose, and the older teens let him. "Wait. Is that why you're so bloody silent when battling?"

"Nah, that's a side effect from Max and Ash," Danny easily admitted. "Certainly doesn't hurt. Like the ice, a _lot_ of Pokémon rely on their Trainers to assess the situation. Not that that's bad," he added, holding hands up just in case. "But If you're blocking vision everywhere, a bit of trust in your Pokémon goes a long way." He turned left, nodding at the eating Dark-types. "If they're in a thick Smokescreen or Smog, you don't want to give your opponents hints at what you're going to do next, and if our Pokémon can hear us, so can theirs."

"We're looking at this from our perspective," Max added. "So it's going to be different for you. But I don't think there's any Pokémon who's not going to be pleased by planning for things on their own."

"Instinct," Evan said, surprising Danny and Max both. "Pokémon have better instincts."

"Uhuh. And they're also closer to the battle. Something you think is possible might not be because of something you can't see or feel yet. Or they have a better idea."

Evan glanced over at his Pokémon, smiling a bit in a way that surprised Danny slightly. "That was how I got my Earth Badge. Stunky used some move that just puked in the drilbur's face." The skunk strutted over, leaning in for a scratch. "Didn't even bloody know it was a move."

Danny didn't either, but Max had an encyclopedic knowledge of Pokémon and their moves. "Belch, right?" he said, and Danny resolved to look the move up after everything was done. Maybe gulpin could learn it too. "You're going to have to get a diet just for stunky at this rate."

"Why's that?"

"I'll explain after I finish this," Max said, ladling some more stew into his bowl. "I want to eat without discussing farts and belches."

 **~~§~~§~~**

The laboratory's inner sanctum was pretty empty, and in this particular room, there was only the teenager lounging in a comfortable chair, flipping through a research journal.. Most of the ones with clearance had left alongside Gramps for a convention in Olivine about marine Pokémon and how changes in the sea currents could affect them. Some kind of work group that finally finished their work after years of models and research, Gary remembered. It had been put together after two weather events in a short time in the first year or so of his travels.

Then, in the first week after it had started doing actual research, some idiots unleashed groudon and kyogre, making it even more important.

Legendary or Legendary-tier Pokémon were behind all of those events, but when the weather was at the mercy of some very powerful individual Pokémon… Gary definitely could see why the old fogies wanted to do something about that, even if he didn't really care about doing the actual research himself. Practical work was way better than modelling.

It was too important, and basically all the Professors of the Home Regions, and more than a few from abroad too, were there. Work at the Oak Ranch basically shut down for the week, but that suited Gary fine. He could do some ranchsitting and test some stuff with the newly hatched litter of eevee that he strongly suspected umbreon had a part in; not that his Dark-type would ever admit it. Didn't matter either: what his Pokémon got up to when he wasn't looking was all their thing. As long as he didn't have to deal with some destroyed outhouse, it was all good.

An urgent ring echoed through the room, and it took Gary a moment to realise which one it was. Curse Gramps for having over a dozen different sounds to indicate incoming calls, and this was the one he'd only heard one time before.

Typical it was the one he technically wasn't allowed to pick up. Porygon-2 level clearance, and he only had the regular level.

It didn't stop him from answering anyway. He could tell them that Gramps was away at least. "Oak Laboratory, Gary Oak speaking."

"Gary Oak?" came a metallic-sounding voice. Scrambled? He couldn't even tell gender because of that; the voice sounded male, but scramblers could make anyone sound like everything. "Doesn't matter," it added. "There isn't much time. Two Trainers are in danger right now. They _cannot_ be captured. You need to send someone to save them."

 _Fuck._ It was an actual emergency. Prank calls on this were _not_ possible. Gary's mind shot into overdrive, even as he grabbed a pen and paper from nearby. "Who is it? Where are they?"

"Intercepted message. Only known as targets. Near these coordinates," the voice told him, and Gary jotted down the numbers as he heard them. Somewhere between Indigo and Mt. Silver, if he remembered right. "Don't bring Psychic Pokémon. Dangerous."

The call ended, leaving Gary with precious little information, and not enough knowledge to fill in the gaps.

He could extrapolate, at least, and he wrote down shorthand for all the other things with one hand as he waited for the map programme to load fully on the computer.

The location was a bit further south than he had originally thought, but it was close enough. Seventy miles north west from Pallet, about a day west of Carnation. Middle of nowhere, but there weren't any confirmed Legendary sightings near there apart from the zapdos that migrated all over the north of that region.

Not that a call for that would be done to him. There was regular police for that, and it was close to the Indigo Plateau. Bruno was on duty for that this week.

Targets implied someone was trying to capture something, and humans capturing humans meant that there was something like Team Rocket involved. Maybe. Possibly. The warning against Psychic-types didn't make sense – Team Rocket was prone to using lots of Poison-types.

Clarity struck as a thunderbolt, and with a quick swipe across the power button, Gary got up, crumpling the paper up and sticking it in his pocket. He'd get something to incinerate the note at some point, but now, he had to find the one Pokémon that could help him get there fast enough.

Fearow was too slow, and that was the only long-distance flight-capable Pokémon Gary had, so he had to find someone else. Luckily, he knew just who to grab.

The old dragonite might not have been as strong as he once was, but when it came to Pokémon like that, it still meant he could throw down with the best of them. There was a reason thieves didn't even try to come near the Lab, and he was one of the big ones.

He found the Pokémon lounging near one of the ponds, and after a quick exchange of bows – a tradition they'd started when Gary was four – he spoke up. "Need you to fly somewhere with me. Fast, and with hostile Pokémon at the end. You up for it?"

The fiery snort was plenty of answer.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Max left the clearing, a basket slung over his shoulder for the berries he was going to find, and Danny took a look up at the sky, where more and more clouds had started to block some sunlight. Dark ones too. "Let's hope Max is back before the thunderstorm hits."

"Magnemite not good enough for it?" Evan asked.

"Magneton, sure. Magnemite, no." Danny tried to remember the exact process that Electric-types used to channel wild lightning into the ground. "Something to do with voltage reserves. Magnemite can't discharge fast enough, so the capacity just overloads." He shrugged. "It's fine for emergencies, but not for a longer storm, manectric's great. She loves it."

"An Electric-type loving thunderstorms. No shit," Evan shot back, but the smirk revealed that there was no venom in there. For all the rough talk he did – and Danny was still pretty annoyed at it sometimes – Max's cousin was a good person. "Maybe I need to catch one."

"There's no Dark and Electric type, I think."

"There isn't," Evan confirmed. "Bet they're be fucking awesome too if there was."

Danny refrained from pointing out that Evan thought all Dark-types were cool. The attitude reminded him of Sidney, and only knowing how poochyena had come into Evan's hands stopped him from thinking it was the Elite Four member who had left a very lasting impression at some school visit.

That did remind him of something. "Evan?" he said, jolting the teen from his wandering away to a nearby tree. "Weird question, but did Max ever seem strange when around your Dark-types? All three at the same time, maybe?"

"No?" Evan seemed uncertain why Danny asked. "Except when stunky farted on him."

"Anyone would react to that," Danny said drily, ignoring the grin Evan was sporting as he walked back. "If I tell you, can you keep it a secret from him?"

"Du-uuuuh."

Danny motioned towards the grass. "Noticed this in November. There's something he feels around powerful Pokémon. Dark-types, and some Ghost-types. Been trying to figure it out, but kinda fell by the wayside a bit," he started explaining. "Drapion and dusclops trigger it, froslass and houndour don't. It's really weird."

"Aren't gardevoir these _amazing_ Pokémon that bond with their Trainers?" Evan said derisively, scowling for a moment. "Girl in my class wanted one because of that."

"Gardevoir didn't join us until December," Danny pointed out, and he stifled a chuckle at the face Max's cousin made. "It probably has to do with yveltal, but if that's what caused it, what does it do?" Confusion greeted that statement. "Think of it like an allergy to Pokémon fur. It is just annoying and it makes you itch when you touch it, or do you get teary eyes and rashes when you're within twenty feet of even the youngest growlithe?"

The brunet nodded in understanding. "And only strong Pokémon trigger it?"

"Strong Dark-types. It's weirder for Ghosts," Danny clarified. "He reacted to Ash's absol, drapion, and I think Gary Oak's umbreon, too, but he doesn't to my houndour or any of your Dark-types." The sun appeared from behind the clouds, and he looked down to not be blinded. "At least it seems like it's just when he's close to them. Wouldn't want him to freeze for every Dark-type."

"Yeah, that'd suck," Evan said, before he stifled a yawn. "We don't have anything to do, right? I could go for a na-aaap."

The warmth was pretty comfortable, and Danny took a deep breath himself to shake the heat from his mind. "Go ahead," he said, even as Evan yawned hugely. "I'll wake you up in an hour or so."

There was no reply, as the younger boy laid himself down, put his head under his arms, and went to have a nap, falling asleep pretty much instantly. Danny was a bit jealous of that, but even as he thought that, a yawn escaped him, and he shook his head. He needed to stay awake. Now wasn't the time to… fall asle...eeeeeep.

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _Kanto-Johto uses three security clearance levels. Regular Porygon levels are the most common, utilised for most sensitive information. Porygon-2 is next, required for the upper echelons of various security organisations and politicians holding positions of power while not being in government in particular. Porygon-Z is the last designation, and only a select few individuals possess this access. Additionally, information classified under this cannot be spread under a need-to-know basis. Impeccable service to the nation is required for this clearance, and once done with that service, it is automatically revoked._

 _Leaking information is punishable with up to thirty years in prison and no chance of parole._

* * *

 **Author's Note:** We have reached the start of this very fanfic. Only took 80k words, give or take.

Addendum August 7th: My HDD is currently in the stages of dying, update this week might be delayed.


	15. Answers And Questions

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

 **A/N1:** Takes place after the Prologue, which took place pretty much simultaneously to the end of last chapter. Re-read that in case you're wondering if you missed something.

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Answers and Questions  
**

Faced with a blade to Danny's arm, and machoke hauling a blindfolded Evan up by his shirt, there was no choice, even though rage burned within him for having to do it. "I..." he started, seeing his captors start to pay attention. "I don't know where they went. It's not like I keep in contact."

"And yet, you have a gardevoir. Caught as one. Is it not from there?" the brunet said, softly as if trying to convince him of something. "Just before we tore through the place, too. Such a shame we didn't find you there."

Max tensed in his bonds. "You… You caught some of them?"

"You don't need to know. Now, since you _claim_ to not know..."

The man gave a signal that Max couldn't see, and the machoke turned Evan upside-down; his cousin's surprise audible through the gag. "Best start talking," the second man ordered. "Machoke's a bit tired. He might drop your friend."

"I don't know!" Max repeated. "I swear, we never talked about that."

"Talk. With a _Psychic_ -type," the main interrogator spat. "As if you're equals. The stupidity of youth." A nod, seemingly to himself. "Yes. If you won't listen to reason… Do it," came a snapped order.

The scream of pain was delayed, but then it was there, audible through the gag, and Danny started to writhe in his bonds as the scyther stepped back, letting out a satisfied cry and folding its blades.

"Fuck you!" Max spat, headache throbbing with rage. "I told you I don't know anything!"

"Aww, does the little boy feel angry? Helpless? _Good,"_ the brunet crooned. "You're nothing but traitors to Hoenn, working with a foreign government against your country. If it were up to me, you'd be dropped in the ocean with an anchor on your ankle." The man lifted Max's chin, cold meeting hot. "Too bad they want you back in Hoenn. And if you're good, I'll even let your upside-down friend go. And if you're not, well… Pokémon journeys are dangerous." He produced a strip of cloth from a pocket somewhere. "Open your mouth, or I'll give the order again."

The moment Max did, however, something caught the man's attention. A second later, wind suddenly soared through the clearing; tossing everything not human or Pokémon around and forcing everyone to brace the best they could.

 **~~§~~§~~**

The coordinates had been very accurate, with only a small adjustment needed to find what Gary had expected to find: two Trainers he was familiar with in dire trouble. There was a third one too: brown hair, younger, had been around the lab at one point. The cousin and Danny were awake, but gagged, while Max seemed to be asleep from something. Not willingly, judging by how he was being tied to a tree.

He carefully moved the binoculars a bit, spotting a crate filled with pokéballs nearby. Probably all dead to the world. That made things harder: between all of the boys tied up, the adult men, and the machoke, there were a lot of options for something to go wrong. Without alakazam, he needed to free them manually somehow. Anything that could cut rope could cut into skin, and in the hurry, first aid supplies hadn't been Gary's priority.

A scyther also came out, making everything even more complicated.

Dragonite could muster a Hurricane to knock everyone down, but not with Gary on his back. Then umbreon could maybe snatch a pokéball or two to even the field a bit – and hopefully, they'd be Pokémon that could immediately help.

The binoculars went around his neck again, and after a whisper, dragonite glided down, landing quietly about two hundred feet away. Another quick explanation made sure umbreon knew the plan, and as dragonite went up into the air, Gary gave his Mega Ring a short look before starting to sneak off in the general direction.

The tail end of what was clearly an interrogation didn't reveal anything Gary hadn't known or hadn't been able to guess if he had spent time thinking about it.

From his position behind a nearby bush; within view of the tree Max had been tied to, Gary couldn't see what exactly was ordered so coldly, but the fact that it was the scyther who made noise was enough to cause umbreon to freeze underneath his fingers, before starting to tremble with suppressed rage.

It took a lot for umbreon to do that. Whatever small measure of pity Gary might have had left for his soon-to-be-opponents vanished; he was going to enjoy beating their Pokémon into a pulp, and if some stray attack hit a human… Who cared. He quickly gave the signal upwards, and prepared.

The Hurricane from up above was perfect to keep humans and Pokémon busy, and under the cover of the winds, Gary quickly ran towards the tree. He needed a moment to find a good spot to slide his pocket knife under, but when he did, the rope fell slack as soon as the blade went up.

There was a surprised cry from the other side of the tree, and in one swift movement, the teenager stepped around the tree, unleashing his starter as he did so. "Protect us," he ordered as he took note of the surroundings – everything had been thrown around, but umbreon had managed to free two Pokémon as well. One was a litwick – not particularly threatening – but the other was Danny's aggron, who _roared_ as the situation became clear to him.

Several Pokémon appeared in the clearing, including a pidgeot that promptly got struck by a Thunderbolt from dragonite overhead. Then it shrugged that off, Mega Evolving in the process and getting another Thunderbolt to the chest.

Gramps' dragonite took no prisoners.

A second Mega Evolution happened; this one friendly, but a primeape stood between Gary and Max and the still-tied-up Danny and the aggron protecting him. "You okay?" Gary asked as he sent another Pokémon out. "Bastiodon, stick with Max."

More Hurricane-force winds buffeted the area, forcing all humans to brace and make themselves small; though it ended fast too. A glance upwards told Gary that dragonite was easily getting the best of that exchange. The cheap shot Thunderbolts helped, but dragonite was _skilled_ even in retirement.

And the pidgeot seemed to not know what to do with its Mega Evolved form, too.

He itched to use Mega Evolution himself; to show the ones opposing them how it was done, but he couldn't, he realised as blastoise took a punch from primeape; returning with an Ice Punch and hitting the ground only. State of mind was too important, and he could not afford cockiness here.

Not that it mattered. The primeape was shit anyway, blastoise only needing time to dispatch the puny punches. Umbreon was running circles around a machoke in the background. Bastiodon and Max had made away, probably looking for an angle to attack from if Gary was any student of human nature, and aggron had secured the crate with pokéballs while defending and freeing Danny. All good, all good.

Except the sandslash that held a claw to the side of the third boy. Two of the captors were there as well – one taller and from what little Gary could see, older.

Fights froze as the predictable demand was made clear: surrender or someone would pay the price. Effective, for sure, but before Gary could look for an opening somewhere, a confident and steel-laced voice answered. "I don't think so," Danny stated from his position right next to aggron; protected by the Steel-type's bulk. "Now."

And a Confuse Ray overtook the quartet, coming from the ground nearby – the litwick, obviously. Immediately, umbreon rushed in, leaving machoke behind, pouncing on the sandslash, who would recover soonest. She imbued her feet with Psychic energy and kicked the Ground-type away from all the humans.

Another roar joined in as the sound of roast bird floated down; the third Mega appearing in the small clearing and immediately pushing out a Thunder Wave that sent all of the hairs on Gary's arms upright.

Be given no mercy, hold nothing back was a motto Gary could get behind, and the man that had been closest to him fell like a bag of potatoes, as did the scyther that tried to block the Thunder Wave with its body.

More Pokémon had appeared around where umbreon had kicked the sandslash away, defending their Trainers, but a sharp warning bark from manectric caused several of them to freeze. The dustox and forretress then returned themselves, leaving a land-bound octillery, a sawk and a throh, and a seviper.

Another Confuse Ray hit, taking temporary care of the two Fighting-types, and that distracted the other two Pokémon long enough for umbreon to create a Light Screen barrier between the four enemies and the humans they were guarding.

Curious. It wasn't as solid as umbreon could make it. A side-effect of whatever contraindicated Psychic-types?

Manectric took the hint the Light Screen presented, and another Thunder Wave came out, nearly overloading the shield and certainly paralysing the Pokémon as her Trainer went for his cousin.

The moment he was there, umbreon tightened the shield to cover only the two teenagers, and a third Thunder Wave went out as something crashed hard nearby.

And with that, the opposition was gone. Blastoise had dealt with primeape; the sandslash wasn't where umbreon had left it, but it had been embedded in a tree instead, and bastiodon looked mighty pleased. Scyther had had a bird slammed into it, and both of them were being guarded by Gramps' dragonite.

Simple, brutal, and effective. The only way you dealt with people like this. The Pallet Town inhabitant glanced at the idiots lying prone around the small clearing, twitching, probably raving in confusion for two in the back, wondering who was most likely to recover first.

It was probably the one that had been interrogating Max, having only been the subject of one Thunder Wave and nothing more. He gestured for blastoise to guard and started moving, stepping past – and on – the primeape that had been beat into the ground by superior punching power, reaching Danny, but focusing on the other two teenagers sitting a bit away.

Max's cousin was babbling nonsensically as the older Maple tried to get him back into the waking world. It was classic confusion: maximum disruption to faculties while seemingly not affecting perception itself. "Light shocks are legitimate therapy for this."

Max looked loath to do that, but a soft whine from his Mega convinced him of the truth, and a spark and a moment later, confusion cleared, replaced by panic fully settling in.

He was going to let Max deal with that, turning towards the other wounded teenager around. Danny had released a masquerain that was pushing gentle bubbles onto the bleeding wound. They came away red, but only very lightly so. "How are you?"

"I'll survive until I get Nurse Joy to have a look," Danny replied as he took a closer look. "Or when shock sets in."

"Your Mega Evolution grounds you from that," Gary said, nodding at aggron, even as he felt pretty relieved that he wouldn't have to run through calming Danny down after what happened. "Your trigger is protective, if I remember?"

A slow and deliberate breath before answering told Gary that the teenager knew more than just something about shock, and his respect rose accordingly. To have the self-control – even if aided by a feedback loop of calming emotions from the aggron – to do that literal minutes after being sliced was impressive. "Yeah, and he wants me to stay calm, it feels like."

"Can you hold the Mega Evolution? I want to interrogate them."

"If I can't, we'll just find out." A wry smile. "Besides, if he held it in the face of Death, I can hold this."

Good point, though it made Gary think of something else. "Max?" he said, turning towards the teenager softly talking to his cousin. "Let manectric go back, okay? The fight's over, and she's powerful enough to stop them anyway."

Manectric did shift back, but there was a startle to Max's figure as she did so – _she_ had made the decision, not Max. More proof for Gary's hypothesis; and boy was that going to be a pain to work with.

He put that aside, instead walking over to the prone figure that had been leading the interrogation. "How the arrogant have fallen," Gary drawled slowly. He took the pokéballs off the man's belt, and soon returned the fallen Pokémon. Curiously, there was one full pokéball, but despite its owner being injured, the Pokémon inside hadn't come out. He put it in stasis anyway. Surprises weren't good. "Can you put..." he started, turning around and seeing Danny already picking things off a belt. "I love it when people listen before I tell them to do something."

"It's a good idea." Two more Pokémon vanished as Gary moved up, beckoning bastiodon closer for guard duty. "Wonder why those two Pokémon re..." Danny continued, but he froze mid-sentence, losing grip of the shoulder he had grabbed to turn one of the two paralysed-and-confused idiots around for easier access to the other pokéballs. "Wha… Gary?"

Gary briskly walked over, doing what Danny had stopped, and seeing a teenager's face babble back at him; spots and badly shaven whiskers and all. Couldn't have been a day over sixteen, he thought, but before he could ask for details, Max joined them. "Evan's o..."

On instinct, Gary turned around, and he saw rage. Not impotent teenage angst-induced anger that was the hallmark of the average poorly-disciplined Trainer, but something far deeper; mature and ugly. He was barely in time at wrestling Max's arms over his head, physically dragging him away, though not before one kick landed on an ankle. "Calm yourself, or I'll have umbreon calm _you._ "

Shouting and cursing was his part. Inventive, Gary had to admit, and probably impossible to pull off without altering reality, but within the rage were no answers as to why the sight had set Max off.

Blastoise waddled up, brusquely grabbing Max's arm. "Toise. Bla," he commanded sternly, and you didn't need to speak Pokémon to know the underlying message to quit. "Bla?"

There was no answer, but Gary let go of Max's wrists anyway, stretching his arm out to unlock muscles he might have locked in the struggle. "So, Danny? What makes Max angrier than a beedrill?"

"We know him," was the cold answer, and Gary took a closer look at what surrounded the group now. Aggron had drawn himself up imperiously, while manectric was tense, fur lowered, knees bent: ready to pounce. The litwick near Danny's feet seemed to not understand what was going on, but its Trainer appeared agitated despite the calming bond, and despite being the more level-headed of the two in general. "He used to be a friend. Then he left his sister to rot, and we haven't spoken since."

Mew save him from melodrama. At least that made the rage understandable. "Keep him in one piece until after we interrogate them," Gary told them. "I don't know about you, but I want to know a few things. Like how they got the jump on you, and what they were here for."

"Want me to go back, swap xatu for gardevoir, and take it from them by force?"

Scooping information without aid, in people who were paralysed and confused, in an advanced technique that had left the unwilling temporarily catatonic in the past. There were laws and ethical points against that, but those were clearly not remembered. "Let's not do anything that sticks you in prison," Gary drawled. "Oh, and umbreon, can you go look for something? Should be a machine, pretty close by. Use Light Screen to triangulate."

The other two seemed confused, but then a groan from behind caught their attention; and Gary's too: Max's cousin had heaved himself up, wobbling on his feet. "Feel like shi'," he mumbled just loud enough to hear. "Wha' fuckin' 'appened?"

Danny hurried over, putting his good shoulder under the boy's arm, taking him away from the clearing. Gary kept watching for a moment, but it seemed like Danny was going to take Max's cousin out of view completely, which was good. No sense in more witnesses than strictly necessary. "Alright, reprieve's over," he said, beckoning Max over and moving towards the seeming ringleader of the bunch. The man – probably in his thirties – had recovered, and was now glaring at them as they approached. Dragonite's presence nearby kept him in check, even without rope. "No insignia, no logo… Woefully underprepared, though. Did you think having a Mega was enough to give you an advantage in case someone fought back?"

"Is this where we bant—argh!" the man replied, interrupted by dragonite stepping forward and twisting the man's arm hard. "That's… how it is… is it?"

"Hey, you started it," Gary said, shrugging before summoning the anger he felt – and finding that he didn't even have to fake some of it. "As far as I'm concerned, you're a bunch of low-life thugs nobody would miss. I could tell dragonite to throw you on top of Mt. Silver, or into the Cinnabar volcano. It'd be no less than you deserve."

"Awaken yveltal just to deal with you," Max added, playing his role perfectly, though Gary doubted the teenager knew he was doing that. "How'd you find us? Was it May?"

"Boy, you're not gonna get anything out of me-eeeeee!"

"Indeed," Gary added as dragonite released the electricity. "Too hardened a target. Good work dragonite," he complimented, and a serious nod was his answer. "Let's go to the softer target. Anything I should know about him?"

"He's a bully," Max said. "Hates Psychics and Ghosts and Darks. Thinks they're _unnatural_."

Translation: standard brainwashed follower who would fold. Just needed to find the weaknesses. "What was that about your sister, by the way?"

"She's in Johto. Probably looking for us." Just those words seemed to make Max angrier; not too unsurprising given context, but then, suddenly, relaxation visibly settled in. "Whoaaa."

"What happened?" Gary barked, hand on his belt, looking for a Pokémon attack.

"My headache just… Vanished. Like poof-gone, was never there vanished." Max seemed confused about that, pretty understandably so. "Never had that before."

That sounded like something did happen, but there weren't any Pokémon visible, and unless there was some extremely skilled Ghost-type nearby… Gary had nothing. "How'd you meet the guy anyway?"

That brought the scowl back, but even so, it was less intense; just a little. "Tournament opponent, 'bout two years ago. Met up some more times, kept in contact until he abandoned his twin sister. She's up in Sinnoh now."

"He got beaten by Sabrina, couldn't make it to the Kanto League, tried to lie to Alice," Danny said from behind them, and when they turned around, Max's cousin wasn't there. "Left Evan with houndour and litwick. Think litwick wants to apologise too."

That was understandable, and Gary made to move towards the two others prone on the ground – mostly because manectric and blastoise were keeping them in check by now – but umbreon shooting out of the undergrowth stopped him. She was carrying something… cracked purple in his mouth? "Bre!"

Gary picked it up, and it only took a moment to recognise a Psychic Gem; albeit one that was in the stages of being used up. "Was there a machine?" he asked, and umbreon barked affirmative. "Max, go get it. Now," he commanded when there was no movement.

"Why me?"

"Just go, Max," Danny stated; and there was a short stare-off between the two teenagers, one that ended when Max up and left, huffing, umbreon hurrying after him. "He's rattled. I never win staring contests."

"You're technically cheating," Gary pointed out, which got a nonchalant shrug. "How's the arm?"

Danny raised it, and droplets of blood fell to the ground. It wasn't bleeding profusely, but it was still bleeding. "I hope it's not as bad as it looks. The bond is kind of numbing it."

"Let's get this over with fast, then." In several swift steps, Gary closed the distance with the prone teen, pulling him up by the back of his clothing – professional-grade Dark-type fur woven in. Not umbreon or absol or houndoom fur: the texture was wrong. A push brought him into blastoise's waiting arms. "Gonna level with ya, Paul. This isn't great company you're keeping. How'd a kid like you get mixed up?"

Anger sparked, focusing the boy's mind. "Fuck you. Aargh!"

"You are not in a place to insult me," Gary said lightly as the teen's arm was moved back. "But it doesn't matter. I know more than enough about the likes of you. Jealous, an unskilled Trainer who doesn't want to put in the time and effort to actually get good. There's a thousand of you for every one of me or the two that were your friends at some point. Hell, I don't even know her, but your sister sounds like someone who's just superior to you in every way possible."

"Why'd you do it, Paul?" Danny chimed in, and Gary hid a frown. "Why join some organisation like Team Magma or Aqua?"

No answer came, except for a laughably bad glare. "Do you know who I am. Paul?" Gary asked calmly, and the intensified glaring was all the answer he needed. "I can use Max's xatu to go get some Pokémon who'll force you to tell the truth. And then you'd probably end up in prison for a long time, too." _That_ finally got a reaction other than anger. "What? You didn't think you'd get away with attempted kidnapping, did you? Might even be something more. Law's not my strong point. And then there's that arm of Danny's, too."

"And holding Evan upside-down."

"Even more. Busy, weren't you." Shit, that was the wrong thing to say, as the boy clammed up again. "Okay then. Final offer." He let a pause fall, making sure it was understood. "Max has a gardevoir. One so powerful your entire team loses. He's not here now, but your little plan with blocking Psychic-types failed. Max can Teleport back to town, get gardevoir in, and then leave the two of you alone." Gary stopped for a moment, pulling out the Pokédex he had forgotten to put away back in Pallet. A few taps, and he found the exact quote he was looking for. "So. Who would win? You, or..."

 _Gardevoir, the Embrace Pokémon. This Pokémon will try to protect its Trainer at all costs. It has the psychokinetic power to distort dimensions while doing so._

"So unless you want to find yourself stuck in the Reverse World for what's left of your life, I suggest you talk."

For a moment, Gary wondered if he'd gone too far, but then, he saw the crack; spreading like invisible wildfire under the boy's skin. And he started talking.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Alice slumped in her chair, as bonelessly as possible while still sitting up. Linda didn't blame her one bit for that. Hearing your estranged twin had been involved in trying to capture and torture some of your friends… It sounded like a bad TV show.

But it was real. They didn't lie about this stuff. You asked the boys questions, and they'd answer or tell ya they couldn't answer.

It had sounded so out there, too, but then Danny joined the call, looking bone tired and with an entire arm bandaged up. For safety, apparently, and that had sold the girls on the truth for sure. You didn't just bandage your arm for nothing, and the pain on Danny's face as he described arguing with the nurse that his tetanus shot was recent enough was the nail in the coffin. Nobody volunteered for getting one of those.

"Alice? Talk to me?"

The Hoennite shook her head, black hair going everywhere, and she didn't put it back behind her ears after. "I.. I never though' he'd try somethin' like this," she said, softly. Linda leant forward just to hear her better. "I know he hated Psychics 'n Darks 'n Ghosts, but… It wasn't this bad."

"It's been a year," Linda pointed out gently. "Lots can change in a year."

"Enough that yer okay with hurtin' some of yer former friends?"

Linda held up her hands in response to Alice's question. "Don't look at me. I was ready to throw him off a cliff after findin' out what he did to ya last year. But I know it's different for ya."

There was no reply for a bit, but that was just Alice thinking about something. She did that. "D'ya think Mom 'n Da knew?"

Pointing out that Alice knew them better wasn't going to lead to anything. "They don't like Psychic-types, ya told me that, but… Isn't it harvestin' time right now? If Paul left earlier, sayin' he wanted to just travel after stayin' home, wouldn't yer parents be too busy to care about what he's doing as long as he doesn't get into trouble?"

That seemed to reach Alice, at least, and she perked up a tiny bit. Enough to reach out and drink what was left of her water, at least. "Guess yer right… Mom 'n Da maybe don't like 'em, but they're not gonna tell Paul ta do somethin' about all of 'em. Too big a thing," she said, grinning weakly. "They're 'bout the small things."

"Wonder how Paul got that ego of his, then, 'cause girl, that thing is _huge_ ," Linda replied, getting even more emotion out of the girl in front of her. "I know I keep sayin' it, but..."

"Nature 'n nurture, I know, I know. Least you've stopped sayin' it was because he's a boy."

"Most teenage boys are immature brats. That's just facts." The occasional letter Linda got from some of her friends proved that, even if Trish sorta loved it when the boys paid attention to her. "And Paul's definitely an immature brat. Think that cousin of Max's is more mature."

At that, Alice outright giggled, and Linda gave her a weird look. "Y'know Max said his cousin caught a stunky, right?"

She didn't, but why was she not surprised… "Well, then he's tied with Paul. And aren't you like two and a half years older than him anyway? Think that counts as a win for Max's cousin, then," Linda told Alice, who had to give that point up. "Hope he'll be okay, too…"

"Now look who's all compassionate with boys," Alice said, smirking. "If there's anyone that can help him, it's Max 'n Danny. They've gone through too much to not know somethin' to keep 'em sane."

Despite her words, Linda knew Alice wasn't certain either. Getting attacked by Pokémon was one thing, but getting attacked by people? Even with all the experience the boys had with that, trying to explain things to someone else was hard. They'd experienced that in Unova, where they'd watched an interview with someone whose Pokémon had been forcibly taken away by Team Plasma.

There had been a happy end there. Linda hoped there would be one in Johto too.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Oak wondered why security had asked him to follow, but odds were there was something at the ranch that needed discussing. His grandson, for all his bluster, was still barely an adult, lacking the finesse required to keep everything sailing smoothly. Personally, Oak had put a bet in with one of the senior aides that the tauros would break out and trample things; it was both the time of year for it and they always responded poorly to a large absence.

Seeing a dragonite – _his_ dragonite – standing outside the convention centre's entrance, with an agitated grandson tapping his foot a few feet away was not expected. "Hello gramps, you got any secure places we can talk?"

The guard nodded in response to Oak's raised eyebrow, and he led both of them to a room not far from the entrance. "As isolated as possible. I will be outside."

Once the door closed, Gary moved swiftly, releasing his alakazam and umbreon both. Two sets of barriers went out, removing external sounds well enough that breathing was audible. "It'll have to do," Gary said, leaning on the table in the middle. "The secure hotline to the lab. The porygon-2 clearance one. Who has its number?"

"You know I can't tell—"

"Fuck that, gramps," was the vulgar reply, and that took Oak aback with its vehemence. "It was used earlier today, with a very cryptic message, and if I hadn't picked it up, two of the most talented Trainers in the Home Regions would have been kidnapped by now."

Connecting the dots wasn't hard. "So they did make a play," he mused, and Gary looked bemused. "I'm more interested in how they actually managed to get to them. I hesitate to call them paranoid, but they're certainly more conscious of what's around them."

"Sleep Powder and this," his grandson replied, sliding something across the table. "A Psychic Gem powering some kind of machine, when the warning said Psychic-types are counter-indicated. There's something f… Gramps?"

"Proof," Oak whispered. "Not hard proof, but this should be enough to… Is the machine still in one piece?"

"Mostly. Umbreon broke some glass and cut a wire or two when getting the gem out," Gary said. "What's going on, gramps? Or is this more classified shit?"

It was classified, but Oak made a snap decision. "There has always been something fishy about the attacks in Hoenn. There are reports of a single lorry showing up in multiple locations that then were attacked by some form of Pokémon psychosis," he said, and he saw that Gary was still following. "Of course, white lorries are more common than pidgey, but when it is the only common thread, a pattern appears."

"This doesn't prove anything so far."

Oak knew it didn't, but now for the second piece of evidence. "Reginald saw a white lorry at the Petalburg Gym, and there was a small psychosis reported – one buried under the news of the boys' escape and some celebrity death. And now, there's a machine that's there as well, using a Psychic Gem, and around a Trainer who's known for having very powerful Psychic-types?" He tapped the side of his nose. "Foul play is most definitely an option. We'll have to test the machine to see what it does, but if its function is what I suspect it to be..."

The moment everything clicked was one Oak wished he had a camera for. Rarely did he see his grandson so utterly struck silent. "The… The _government_ is behind the attacks? They're the _they_ you referred to earlier?"

"Not necessarily," Oak said, but in a tone of voice that he knew would be picked up on: devil's advocate for the sake of it. "It could be an individual, or even several individuals, setting up a conspiracy that not everyone is in on. Think the Team Rocket corruption scandal, if you will; I know you've read up on that."

It was at least twenty seconds before everything had been processed. "So… What do we do now?"

"We tell the right people," Oak said, putting a hand on his grandson's shoulder. "And then we plan to expose the truth."

"We?"

"My boy, you didn't think being a Pokémon Professor was only scientific? How dreadfully naive of you."

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _If you get a cut from a wild Pokémon, always talk to a doctor or a Nurse Joy as soon as you can. You may need medicine or even a tetanus shot, even if the cut is small enough that you don't need stitches. Wounds can get infected, and then you are in a lot of trouble. When it comes to medicine, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!_

From: Injuries and You, Starting on a Pokémon Journey

* * *

 **Author's Note 2:** The shortest chapter - excluding A/N and disclaimers - since somewhere early in Evolving Stratagems, but it's a doozy. Lots of things revealed, and accordingly, this chapter was a complete and utter pain in the **** to write. My hard disk dying did not help - although it didn't cost me any significant words, it did cost me a day or three before I felt like writing again instead of installing things and hoping that that day was the last time I found out about something I had forgotten to set up.

That being said, I probably typed closer to quadruple the words that actually made it into the chapter. Fun, though.


	16. Staging An Intervention

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 15: Staging An Intervention**

Travel was slow, the day after everything had happened. Muscles ached from the adrenalin receding, and Danny's arm was sporting a bandage that needed to be replaced three times a day. The cut hadn't needed stitches, but it would take some time to heal and would probably scar according to Nurse Joy.

It was probably going to be a bigger scar than any of the one his uncle had from being a Professor for years now.

Danny's wrists also still itched from the rope that had been used, and when he'd asked the others about it, they said it was the same for them. Max said it was kinda normal for rope to do that, which had then led to some talk about Team Rocket and Max sharing stupid stories, but it had been silent since then.

They'd been lucky. A cut, a lot of confusion – Evan had been woozy until after a night's rest – and sore muscles? It could've been so much worse, and this time, there was no xerneas to heal all wounds and to help them. Danny didn't know _how_ Gary had ended up overhead on his grandfather's dragonite – though he had guesses he couldn't really voice because of Evan – but without that… He shuddered to think where they could've been.

Maybe Max had been right with his whole 'do not think about it' thing back in Pallet Town.

"So, why did they come after you?" Evan suddenly asked, breaking the long silence, startling Danny and causing masquerain to veer downwards for a moment. The pair of houndour padding alongside probably also looked at him strangely. "I know you were wanted and stuff, but… They didn't look like the fuckin' coppers or anything."

"That's 'cause they weren't," Max explained, already sounding agitated even to Danny's ears. "They looked and acted like scum from some or another Team."

"But Hoenn doesn't have any of those. Team Aqua and Magma are _gone_. Dead. In prison. You put them there!"

"Then they're new, I don't know!" Max replied heatedly. "Team Rocket's still around here, police have been trying for years to get them. Maybe it's them, fuck if I know!"

Part of Danny wondered what had happened to the Team Rocket agent that Max had met with in Durocor, nearly a year ago, but then Evan dug his heels in, almost literally, Danny saw. "If it is, you should stop fuckin' looking for them! Maybe not get others wounded and confused and shit!"

Anger rose up in Danny's abdomen, and he took a step forward, but he was able to stop himself from saying anything in anger. Instead, he used his good arm to grab Max by the elbow, yanking him back from doing anything stupid. "Evan," the older teenager said, and he tried as best he could to not glare. "Go take a walk away, okay? To cool down. We'll be here."

"Fine, dipshits," the youngest one said, before turning around and stomping off, his houndour trailing after him.

"Masquerain, go after him, keep him safe," Danny ordered, and his Bug-type obeyed without question, zooming away, but at a distance from Evan. "Sit down, Max," he said, releasing his hold on Max's elbow and only getting a glare and a hand rubbing the elbow in return. "Sit. Down."

"You heard what he said, right?" Max asked, folding his arms angrily and still not sitting down. "Like it was my fau – hey!"

"Good girl," Danny complimented his houndour, who had tugged at Max's pack to make him fall over backwards. He got a happy doggy grin in return. "Yes, I heard what he said. No, didn't like it either. But he's not completely okay mentally, and you're _not_ helping."

Another glare, but a bit of hesitation, too. "So that makes it fine? Stupid, ignorant..."

Danny kicked Max's foot, just hard enough to make him stop talking. "Ignorant, yes," he bit out. "Evan's not used to what we are. Use your brain for a second and think about what happened yesterday for someone who's never been attacked like that."

Thankfully, Max did indeed engage his brain as far as Danny could see. "Serena never was like this."

Still petulant, but that was easy to deal with. "Serena was still pretty meek in the Glittering Caves," Danny countered. "And the next time she was involved, she'd gotten used to the madness." He refrained from mentioning that a lot of her questions after the fact had centred around Max's behaviour. "Evan is a lot more stubborn than she was. Reminds me of someone else, y'know."

The comment hit home, but Max didn't reply, moving straight into sulking. Honestly, it was like a checklist, not that Danny was ever going to say that out loud without being at least half a region away from his best friend.

Then, finally, when Danny thought the matter had been closed, and he was about to go take out his binoculars to see where Evan had ended up; the land around them being fairly flat, Max spoke up again. "He was wrong too."

"Not saying he wasn't," Danny agreed after only a moment of thinking. "But he's twelve, we're fourteen going on forty with the things we've seen." He paused. "Look, we'll talk to Serena, see if she knows anything or can help Evan with it or something. And then the two of you need to talk. Nah-ah," he added, wagging his finger when Max wanted to reply. "Talk it out. You need him more than you think."

And with that, he left a hopefully thinking Max to his own devices, putting about twenty feet between them and starting to set up for lunch. Might as well make something of it, and there was no way they'd reach Carnation before someone complained they were hungry with this happening.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Serena had only been happier to see Danny once in her entire life. This was a close second, though: getting a quick call saying that they'd been ambushed but were all mostly fine was emphatically _not_ okay, and she intended to give Danny a piece of her mind about that. Later. "Hey Serena," the blond teenager said, sounding pretty tired for five in the afternoon. "Before you chew me out about yesterday… Can I ask you a favour?"

Why was Danny so damn perspective. Boys his age were not supposed to be. "Sure," she agreed. "What is it?"

"I need you to talk to Evan about how you dealt with, well… The stuff we got up to," Danny explained, shrugging. "He and Max got pretty angry at each other earlier today."

"You'd better tell me what happened so I can help better," Serena cautioned, and she got the eye roll she expected. "I'll try. Is that why Max isn't here? You put him in time-out?"

Danny let out a short laugh. "As if. Told him that he should make himself useful and out of Evan's hair for a bit. He's ready to make up – I know, it's a miracle," he added, probably reacting to some disbelief on her face. "Think I guilt-tripped him pretty well."

Sometimes, Serena thought Danny knew Max better than Max knew himself. This was definitely one of those times. "He needs that," she stated. "Anyway, mostly fine? I know you two, so… Spill."

An arm went up from out of view, and the bandage was pretty much what Serena had expected. It looked in need of changing too. "So it all started when Evan and I fell asleep..."

How, in the name of xerneas, were they so incredibly lucky. Gary Oak just happened to fly overhead on his grandfather's dragonite? Danny also clearly knew there was more, but given that they were on a public phone and all… Not much they could say about it, if they even knew more. "Remind me to never make him angry."

"He wasn't even angry. Or didn't look it," Danny amended. "But the way he made Paul talk was just amazing."

Paul, Paul, Paul… That name was… Wait a minute… "Paul? The brother of one of your other friends? Alice?" Serena wasn't completely sure, but the nod confirmed it. "Max must've flipped."

"Think Max was kinda sad about Paul talking at some level. He was all for getting gardevoir involved."

Serena winced. If Max followed the Team Flare trials as closely as she did – reading most of the main articles about it – he knew what that could do. Malva certainly had complained about it.

And if she were completely honest… She could understand it too. Traitors were the worst kind of people, and Paul had been hated by them ever since he'd tried to pull a fast one over his twin sister. "You dropped them off at the police?" she asked, and Danny confirmed that wordlessly. "At least they're out of your hair now. How did you forget making sure there wasn't anyone nearby anyway?"

"Y'know… Not sure myself," Danny admitted. "It's not gonna happen again, that's for sure."

Serena idly wondered how many Pokémon would be out and about. Probably about four. "So Evan got his head scrambled by your litwick? And it lasted that until he went to bed?"

"Stuff like Confuse Ray and Will-O-Wisp is litwick's speciality," Danny told her. "And we've been working on that too. You know my style. Mind," he added, "I don't think that the Sleep Powder into being held upside down helped either. And litwick probably put a lot into it too."

"I'm not sure I can help too much," she admitted, and Danny frowned. "Don't forget, I chose to come with you in Durocor, and the injury I got there was physical and something I could easily deal with because of my knee. But I did promise I'd try, so…"

One minute later, Danny had left after Evan had shooed him away. "So you're Serena," the boy said, his left hand scratching behind his ear. He had light brown hair, light eyes that were either grey or light blue – she couldn't tell – and a pretty bored look on his tanned face. "Danny said you had something to ask me?"

"Kinda." She took a breath in. "Are you okay after what happened yesterday?"

She was prepared for the scowl. She'd heard enough about Evan to know that he was like that. "Just had my fuckin' brain scrambled for hours and that's not even getting into the whole ambush and nearly kidnapped thing just because I'm with my cousin and his friend."

"What was that like? Your brain being scrambled, as you call it?"

Evan blinked in surprise, several times. "Didn't they teach you that? You were with them for a year, right?"

Serena shook her head, and she saw a curl or two fly into her vision. She needed a haircut. "It's a recent thing for them, and even then… I don't have any Pokémon like that. Braixen is closest, but she's not great at Confusion." She shrugged. "I've got pretty normal Pokémon type-wise. Got braixen, got ducklett, got cherrim, got mareep, got meowth. Altaria's a bit weirder, maybe, but she used to be a swablu." She remembered something. "And a zorua, but illusions don't really get into your head."

Eyes lit up as she mentioned that, and Serena suppressed a smile. Boys were so easy to manipulate sometimes. "A zorua, really? Can I see it? They're really rare!"

"Only if you answer my question."

Evan's face fell. "Figures," he said, thinking. Serena waited patiently for the twelve year old to get his thoughts straight. "I'd have moments where I just couldn't think. Well, I could think, but then they just vanished and reappeared and vanished..." Even just talking about it seemed to annoy the boy. "And then I remembered everything two minutes later. That's the fucking worst part of it."

"What do you mean?"

"I remembered how I forgot," Evan clarified. "That really screws you over."

Yeah, Serena could see that. "Must have been confusing to deal with. It's gone now?"

"Think so, but..." Evan bit his lip, suddenly nervous. "Isn't mind stuff like this supposed to last for a long time?"

"I don't know," Serena admitted, biting her tongue to not point out that his cousin would know stuff like that. "But if you want, I can give you some tips I used to work with my knee."

"Your knee?"

Oh, Danny and Max hadn't told him that. "I tore up my knee two years ago and it was a huge problem for me. Wouldn't have even been a real Trainer if it hadn't been for Danny and Max."

"They taught you this?"

Serena couldn't help but laugh. "No, silly," she said afterwards. "This is from the doctors when I was recovering. I know Max knows more about Pokémon than anyone our age, but he's just a teenager too."

"Oh, okay."

"Anyway, two things," Serena said, holding up a finger. "One: when it starts to hurt badly, you stop what you're doing. A bit of pain is fine, a lot isn't. And two," she added, raising her middle finger, "you practice with your injury to see how far you can go."

"How's that supposed to help? It's my head, not my knee."

Silly boys who couldn't see what was right in front of them. "Didn't you say something about Danny and Max teaching me something?" she reminded him, smiling at him, and grinning when she saw the realisation dawn. "You can train to have a bit of resistance. It's not without risk, I think, but Danny and Max know more about that."

"But I don't have any Pokémon who know Confuse Ray."

"What Pokémon do you have? I know you like Dark-types, Max told me that, but..."

"Poochyena, tentacool, butterfree, stunky, murkrow, houndour," Evan listed. "Don't think any of them can learn it."

"But butterfree learn Confusion, don't they?" Serena said, and the way Evan's face fell almost comically reminded her _so_ much of his cousin. "Talk to Danny if you're still angry with Max. He'll know what to do."

"Should I be angry with him?"

Boys really did know nothing, but he sounded and looked so uncertain when he'd said that that Serena couldn't help but feel for him. Still, she wasn't going to lie about this. "I don't know, but Max stays angry for long time. He went a week being angry with us last year. But," she said a bit louder, figuring that Evan was going to say something. "I'm going to tell you something Danny told me earlier."

"What."

"Max doesn't want to be angry with you any more. It's a miracle," she added, shrugging expressively. "But it's true. So go talk to him, okay?"

"But what about zorua?"

Oh, right, she had promised that. "Making up with Max is more important. But if you want… Can you come to Pallet after you've got the badge in Carnation? It'll be worth the wait."

"Deal!"

 **~~§~~§~~**

Finding out where May was wasn't exactly hard. Alakazam had more than enough energy to make Gary go from Pokémon Center to Pokémon Center in an instant, and once he'd found the one she'd been at most recently, fearow picked up the slack.

And somehow, despite professing to hate his sister, Max's guess had been right. May had been at the Ice Path, and was now moving south across the mountain range close by.

He found her setting up camp on one of the more accessible mountains; about sixteen hundred feet above sea level, and he directed fearow to land nearby. "May Maple."

"Oh, hello Gary," the teenager greeted him, sweetly. "Didn't know you were around here. Were you looking for Pokémon?"

"I wasn't. I was looking for you," he replied, casting his eye around for any of her Pokémon. There were none. "Something interesting happened yesterday, and I think I want answers."

May stopped fiddling with the cloth she was trying to tie to a loose peg and faced him fully, adjusting her ponytail as she did so. "You're not making a lot of sense."

"Yesterday, your brother nearly got himself captured by some thugs," Gary said casually, ignoring May's gasp. "I was there to clean up, and you know what he told me?" He held the pause for just a moment. "He told me that one of the goons had said something about Max preferring to face yveltal twenty times over." He released alakazam and umbreon, and fearow took to the skies. "And he also told me that there's only one person alive he's said that to. You."

Her blaziken and ivysaur came out in response to the ramping tension, but May signalled for them to do nothing. Lesser trainers would've been fooled by the show, but some part of May did feel threatened by him; otherwise the Pokémon wouldn't have come out.

Good.

"I never told anyone about that. Not even Mom and Dad."

"Then explain to me how two things that you alone were told made it out. Oh, please," Gary said when May tried to feign confusion. "Max tells you about what happened there, and then they nearly get arrested days later? Cut the crap, May; you're the only possible leak. Tell the truth."

The mountainside suddenly got a lot fuller as the rest of May's Pokémon responded to the threat, but Gary wasn't worried. Blastoise joined them, and a silent reminder that he had a Mega Ring persuaded May's Pokémon to not attack. "It _is_ the truth. Maybe someone from Kalos blabbed," she shot back.

"Heh. As if," Gary replied, confusing May again. "Your brother likes secrets. There's only one he told the full story to there, and she was right in the same spot when saving thousands of lives. You don't do that and then betray them two months later."

"And I was there when we were eaten by the Tree of Beginning's gloop!" May retorted angrily. "He's my brother, Gary. I don't expect you to understand, but siblings have a bond."

"A bond you so casually threw away when you told the Hoenn government things that needed to remain secret," Gary replied calmly, further annoying her. "Return your Pokémon, May. I don't want to waste my time fighting you. The outcome is already known anyway."

She did yield, and Gary returned most of his Pokémon as an act of good faith. Fearow stayed out, but perched far enough away that there was no immediate threat to May. "I miss my brother, Gary. You think I wanted this? Not hearing anything about him for months? Even Ash wouldn't tell me anything, and I know they met up at the Indigo League!"

"At Max's request," Gary dropped casually, and May froze. "Something else he told me yesterday… There were three trying to capture him. Until he found out who the third person really was… He thought it was _you._ "

"But, but..."

"But what," Gary interrupted the pathetic stammering. "He knew you were nearby. We've already established he likes the dirt under his shoe more than you. Between you and me, May, I'd stay far away from your brother. Or don't, but expect the Team Rocket treatment."

The exhortation that Max wouldn't do that didn't come. Instead, tears filled May's eyes. "He… He would do that? To me?" she asked in a small voice. "Am I… He hates me that much? But I'm his sister..."

"You keep saying that like it matters. You can consider yourself his, but he does not consider himself yours." Gary gestured, and fearow flew down. "Go back to Hoenn and stay there." He mounted fearow. "Oh, and May? Unlike you, I've got a pretty good bond with my sibling. So good, in fact, that I'll be stopping at her place for dinner tonight. Smell ya later."

 **~~§~~§~~**

Max thought he'd recognise a set-up when he saw one, but really, Danny shoving him into the room after coming back and then locking the door? Audibly, and uselessly, because Max and Evan both had keys as well? Jirachi, his best friend's sense for theatrics was getting worse by the day, if not the hour.

Evan was in the room as well, unsurprisingly, looking pretty confused at what was going on. "Why'd Danny lock the door?"

"Because he's like that," Max answered as he sat down at the other end of the bed Evan was sitting on. "Look… I shouldn't have been like that, but… I forgot, okay?"

"Forgot? Forgot what?" Evan asked, turning towards him.

"That you weren't used to shit like what happened yesterday. I should've helped you more with what happened."

That confused Evan even more. "But… You only had the Kalos things, right? It was only a few times? And that Aqua shit."

Max made a snap decision. "Not really. I mean, yeah, sure, that's it for Danny," he explained. "But I saw a lot more when travelling with Ash."

"Huh?"

"Ash had a bunch of Team Rocket goons after his pikachu," Max started to explain. "So when I joined, it kinda became normal to have some trap or attack or any kind of shit happen."

Evan still seemed a bit puzzled. "So.. How often did they try? Like once a month?"

Max shook his head. "Try three times a week. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Yes," he added when his cousin leant back in disbelief. "I promise I'm telling the truth. We saw way too much of them. And other Pokémon were their targets too, if they could get away with it."

"Like ralts?" Evan guessed, sounding uncertain. Max confirmed it wordlessly. "No way! You nearly lost ralts to Team Rocket? No wonder you hate people like them."

"No, that's not the reason," Max corrected softly. "They were annoying, but they never really got their hands on anything powerful. It was Team Magma," he answered before Evan could ask. "Promise me you won't talk about this to anyone unless I tell you it's okay."

His cousin moved, but it was only to settle in against the wall and the bedpost. "I promise."

It was less enthusiastic than Max hoped, but it was a promise. "Team Magma was after the Millennium Comet jirachi, and, well… Jirachi was _my_ friend, and… What?"

"You're fuckin' lying," Evan said, disbelief dripping from his words. "You? Meet jirachi? The jirachi that only wakes up once every thousand years?" He folded his arms. "I want proof."

Max suppressed the part of him that felt annoyed by the demand. ""Brock's the one who has the pictures, but gardevoir can show you my memory." Evan's eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets. "Er, what?"

"They can do that?! Read minds and that shit?!"

"They're Psychic-types. The mind is their speciality," Max replied as he grabbed gardevoir's Friend Ball and released the Embrace Pokémon. "It's definitely easier to do things willingly than it is to read it forcibly."

A brief sensation at the base of his skull was followed by a moment of split vision and focus, but the headache faded near-instantly. _"If you so desire, Evan, I can show you a memory of Max's encounter with the Wishmaker."_

"Will it do anything weird to my head?"

"Er..." Max started, trying to remember the times he'd done this. "I felt a lot of foreign emotions when a gardevoir shared her memory with me, and the time I did it back, it was like… Like my own feelings had been supercharged." He fixed his eyes on Evan's face. "That was kirlia's death."

Evan winced involuntarily. "You're not gonna show me something that bad, right?"

A shrug. "I was annoyed at the time, but… It was the good annoyed. Like when someone's teasing you, but it's all in good fun." Max's left arm went towards the gardevoir's right. "You in?"

It took a few seconds of Evan visibly doubting and looking between the two of them, but eventually, he accepted. "Okay then."

Max concentrated, and a moment later, he was back chasing jirachi as the young Legendary had stolen his glasses; annoyance and happiness and the fun of the chase all mixing for a brief instant. "And?"

Evan didn't reply immediately, shaking his head – something that caused Max to glance a look at gardevoir – but then he grinned at Max. "Damn, you're really blind without those glasses of yours."

"It's not that bad," Max defended. "But… You believe me now?"

"Yah. So where'd Team Magma come in?" his cousin asked, immediately moving on like he hadn't just seen a Legendary, even in memory.

"Short summary?" Max asked, getting a nod in return. "Blah blah, power of jirachi blah blah summoning groudon blah." A snort told Max his idea had worked. "It was stupider than it just sounded."

" _Is such a thing possible?"_ Gardevoir wondered, and that set both teenagers off with laughter. _"And it seems your habit of working well with Psychic-types such as myself predates even our first meeting. Curious."_

Max didn't think gardevoir had sent the second part to Evan, and so he didn't reply, instead resolving to ask about it later. "Jirachi was the first Legendary I met, too. It was something really special."

"Wish I could see one..." Evan said, side-tracked. "Not yveltal though. I know it's a Dark-type, but… I'll stay away."

"Good idea," Max replied drily. "But most of them are just… Normal Pokémon. Like the Birds and Beasts and Golems are pretty common for Legendaries. Scary powerful, but not unbeatable or stuff. In a straight fight, I mean. Ash's charizard beat an articuno," he added before Evan could reply.

"How fucking many Legendaries _have_ you fucking met?"

Two in one sentence. Max had never heard Evan use that before. "I think… fifteen unique now. Couple more if we count doubles. Met the regis twice. Deoxys too." And celebi, but that event was going to stay between the five who knew. "You want me to list them?"

"Might as well drop more fucking pineco on me while you're at it," Evan grumbled, and Max gladly obliged. He got halfway through, but then Evan interrupted him with a strangled sound. _"Mew?"_ he asked, voice squeaking in surprise.

"Yeah. Not the best meeting, but it wasn't really mew's fault. Very long story," he said to avert any questioning. "Took me a good hour to get everything right when I told Serena this."

"How come she knows?"

It was curiosity, not anything like envy. "After defending a museum together, keeping secrets is kinda stupid." He shook his head. "And to think someone from Team Rocket put me onto that."

"Huh? You? Team Rocket?"

Say something, and Evan jumped on it immediately. "Blackmail," Max explained, but his cousin didn't follow. "They had pictures of us there, and told me to do something about the museum that was going to be attacked or else." Another shake. "That was one of the weirdest days of my life."

"Why?"

"Being blackmailed in a posh restaurant while having lunch with someone you despise?" Max said, and Evan's face morphed into pure surprise. "It was something."

The brunet didn't seem to know what to say to that, and they lapsed into silence; during which Max returned gardevoir and waited patiently for his cousin to work through whatever he was thinking about. He had dropped a ton of stuff; no wonder that some time was needed to process it all.

He'd almost given up on any questions when a throat was cleared. "Max? D'you think a criminal can be a… a good person?"

"No," Max said flatly. "You injure or steal Pokémon, you belong in prison."

"But what if they don't do that?"

Now it was Max's turn to be confused. "What do you mean?"

His cousin leant forward a bit. "I was thinking about back home," he nearly whispered, forcing Max to lean forward as well. "I always had to meet O… the friend who gave me poochyena somewhere else. And it was always pretty empty around. Like he was hiding from something. And he was really negative about the coppers, too. But he didn't hurt Pokémon, or use them to hurt others!"

"How do you know that?"

"He only had an amoonguss, and all it did was sit around whenever I saw it. Os said he used it more for sleep than anything else. There weren't any other pokéballs on his belt."

Max couldn't follow. "Why ya think he's a criminal then? If he doesn't use Pokémon like that."

"Told ya," Evan replied, agitated. "Hated coppers, always hiding, and..." he trailed off, hand in his light brown hair. "And just a feeling, okay?"

Team Rocket was capable of hiding their true nature, Max knew that better than most, but somehow, he didn't think it was like that. Still… "If you meet him again… Be careful, okay? Just because he didn't do anything back then doesn't mean he won't in the future."

"You won't tell anyone about him?"

Evan's plea was enough to make up Max's mind for him. "I promise I won't."

That seemed to brighten the twelve year old's mood, and the room fell silent for several minutes, only interrupted by Max's walking around as he opened up a window wide: it was stuffy in the room.

"Can you tell me about some of the stuff that Team Rocket did?"

Max definitely could.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Last to bed and first to rise; that was unusual for Danny, but it'd happened before. He'd returned late the night before – having gone out into town to ask the local Gym Leader how things worked, only to spot a cinema and a sequel to a film he remembered liking on the way back. By the time he'd come back, both of the others had been asleep, not waking up when Danny climbed the ladder to his bed, and they didn't wake up either when he had left the room that morning.

He'd nearly finished the last bit of his breakfast when both of them shuffled in at the same time. Max looked a lot more awake than Evan did, but something in the cafeteria made the twelve year old's eyes open wide, and he hurried towards the table Danny was sitting at, stealing away the bowl of rice that Danny had kept around just in case one of them would join him. "Hungry?"

"Seems like," Max said as he walked by, casting a glance at what Danny was eating. "Didn't know you liked pickles."

"They're not bad," Danny admitted with a shrug. "Want me to get you some breakfast? I'm pretty done."

Max immediately sat down, and Danny headed over, grabbing a tray and putting stuff on there on autopilot. He knew what his best friend liked from experience, and Evan ate everything anyway. Except pickles, apparently, he saw as he returned. "How can you like this shit?"

"Better taste buds?" He put the tray down, pushing it into the middle of the round table that had been cleared out while he was away. "Guess you two are good now?"

A mischievous twinkle appeared in Max's eye. "Never did ask. We good, Evan?"

"I 'pose," Evan mumbled with his mouth full. He swallowed the rice. "You're still shorty."

"See? We're good. You really didn't need to do all that, Danny."

"Seemed like a good idea at the time," was the reply. "Asked the Gym how things work around here, by the way. It'll be two on two, Monday. No time earlier: Gym Leader's got her birthday this weekend."

"Two only? That's good," Evan said in between bites. "Dark and Fairy types don't mix. Just need to think of which Pokémon to use."

"Butterfree or stunky first, houndour second," Max replied instantly, and Evan gave him a weird look. "Stunky is probably better."

"It's his sixth badge," Danny replied for Evan. "Gym Leaders counter, or did you forget Roxanne?"

"As if," Max said, scoffing and rolling his eyes at the suggestion. "If you win the first round, the Gym Leader should send out something that resists or is immune to poison. That means either a Steel-type or something with Rock characteristics. I don't think there's a Ghost-Fairy hybrid. The smarter choice is to send out something immune so you can't get lucky anyway."

It was so simple. Almost too simple. "Wouldn't the Gym Leader know about that?"

Max speared a piece of fish. "Know? Sure. Expect? Maybe. You're not asking the right question, though. Would that klefki or mawile have anything that is good against houndour?"

"You're all way too complicated for me," Evan said from the other side of the table. "Houndour does kinda need battling experience first. You said yourself she was younger."

"We can teach young dogs new tricks," Danny said, and Max groaned at his words. "I know I want to use my houndour, too. Not so sure about the second Pokémon. What about you, Max?"

A shrug from the middle teenager. "Baltoy hasn't had a Gym Battle all region, and can't exactly use it at the Dark-type Gym. So that's one. Probably adapt to what's thrown at me. It…" he said, but then he had an idea. The spoon clattering onto the table was enough proof for that. "You got diggersby with you? And a whistle? And something that can be tugged?"

Danny had no idea what Max had planned. Even by his standards, that was some really weird prerequisites. "Can fix diggersby and a whistle, but no clue what you mean by the third thing."

"One of those rope toys?" Evan spoke up, and Max nodded, visibly glad someone understood. "I've got two, I think. One's nearly torn up, but the other's fine."

"Kay. Let's be here in an hour."

An hour and ten minutes later, xatu brought them to some open area not too far from Enion, Danny thought. He sent out diggersby, and the Kalosian Pokémon, baltoy, and xatu got to work at landscaping the rocks in front of them while three canine Dark-types also came out. All of them sat down when their Trainers told them to do that. "Don't get how this is gonna help with battling," Evan said. "It's not about doing attacks."

Danny knelt down by his own houndour, tying a blue ribbon loosely around the neck as an identifying collar. "That's later. This is all about not getting hit. From all angles." He stood up. "Baltoy and xatu aren't gonna do nothing while these three race to get it."

'It' was the older rope toy that Evan had with him. Chewed up, sure, but that didn't matter. "Yeah, they'll be throwing stuff around. Diggersby can do stuff on the field too if you think it's a good idea. A bit of shaking won't hurt."

Evan continued to not really understand, but Danny kept an eye on him while the first round of retrieving the item happened – poochyena won after Danny's houndour tripped over something psionic – and he saw the boy get it. "Damn, they're having fun, aren't they?" he said needlessly: all of the canines having big goofy grins. "Give that back, boy, we need it for more of this."

The second round went over to Evan's houndour after she tripped poochyena with a sneaky paw, and that opened up everything. The canines also started to trip and jump on each other instead of just having to contend with whatever was being thrown at them; and twice in a row, Danny's houndour was the smartest at that: one time taking the toy and bringing it all the way back, and the second time taking it away from poochyena halfway through.

Evan's houndour had fallen behind a bit, but not for lack of trying, and she found herself very close to the other Dark-Fire type at the end of round five. Danny saw her open her mouth and a weak black ball formed, shooting forward. It missed the Pokémon, but it hit Max on the shin.

Everyone instantly crowded around Max, who waved them away angrily. "I'm fine, I'm fine," he said, but Danny ignored that, instead kneeling and taking a look at where the attack had hit. It was a bit red, but not that bad. "See? Made of harder stuff than that."

"I'm sorry!" Evan said, and his houndour whined agreement. "She didn't—"

"Oh, shut up," Max said, but he wasn't angry. In fact, Danny saw him smirk. "Your houndour just learned a new attack because of this running." He turned to Evan, grinning cockily. "There's your attacking."

 **~~§~~§~~**

The area behind Ash was basically boxes and empty floor, Danny noticed as the screen came on. "How'd you get this number?" the Palace Maven to-be asked as he pulled a chair over. "This was set up yesterday."

"Connections. Pallet Town ones," Danny said, and that was enough of an answer for Ash, it seemed. "Look, there's something I need to discuss with you and Gary. In person," he added. "About Max. When are you in Pallet again?"

"Wednesday," Ash answered after thinking it over for a moment. "Did something happen to him? Apart from three days ago?"

"Nothing important. Took a newly learned Snarl to the shin, but eh," Danny said. "It's just that I had an idea about… That thing we talked about outside at Yule dinner."

It took a moment longer for Ash to recall that conversation than Danny had expected. "Okay. How are you going to get to Pallet? Charizard can pick you up."

Danny shook his head. "Nah. Borrowing xatu is easy. Gary's covering for that. Says he wants to know some measurements for Mega aggron." Honestly, even though the Pallet Town researcher had come up with that on the fly, Danny wouldn't be surprised if they'd be real by Wednesday. "How's just after dinner sound?"

Pikachu jumping on Ash's shoulder stopped the reply for a moment. "Sure. See ya then!"

"Good luck unpacking!"

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _A group of three was charged with attempted kidnapping today, the_ Kanto-Johto Area Police _reported in a statement. The trio; aged 32, 31, and 15, allegedly deprived three underage Trainers of their Pokémon and were only stopped as a fourth Trainer saw what was happening and intervened. During the ensuing fight, two of the victims and all of the alleged kidnappers suffered light injuries. The identity of the adults is unknown: anyone who recognises them based on the pictures linked below is advised to contact their local police station with information._


	17. Tales And Truth

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 16:** **Tales And Truth**

The water show in the Cerulean Gym was as gorgeous as it had been advertised, Serena concluded as the show ended. The audience's applause was deafening, bouncing off of the glass walls of the raised aquarium that had allowed them to see the underwater spectacle. It was a story about standing up for yourself, with the main character getting bullied out of some group and having more fun with a few other 'outcasts' that made others join in too.

She made her way back to the entrance area without any trouble, helped by the fact that it was Monday and it wasn't all that busy, and Serena was already thinking about what she wanted to grab for lunch when she saw someone walking towards her from the corner of her eye. "Serena?" the woman asked. "Can you help me with something?"

It took a moment to recognise who was speaking, but the orange hair jogged her memory. Misty, the Cerulean Gym Leader, wanted her help. "Er… Sure?"

The Gym Leader led her down an empty corridor, heading into the first empty room they could find – some kind of office that looked like it hadn't been cleaned properly in a bit. "Ugh. Need to talk to the cleaners and security," Misty muttered, palming a pokéball. "Staryu, can you spray the table?"

Serena was surprised when Misty sat down on the table, her feet on the chair, but she followed suit. "So, er..."

"Relax, Serena," Misty said, smiling gently, and pushing a lock of hair out of the way. "Nothing world-threatening or anything. We've both had plenty of that already. Just wanted to know about Contests over here and Showcases in Kalos. What ar… Oh, hi Violet."

"Why are you in here? It's all so dirty in here!" the blonde who'd just starred in the play said. Her hair was still wet, and she was wearing a bathrobe and slippers. "C'mon Misty, we've got better rooms than this."

Misty sighed, but got up from the table. "Lead on, then."

The next room was quite a bit cleaner, but also messy at the same time; a lot of papers strewn around. "This'll do," Violet said as she sat down on a comfortable-looking sofa. Misty and Serena grabbed chairs from a nearby desk. "Did Misty tell you why I wanted to talk to you?"

"Er… No?"

"I was about to tell her before you came bursting in," Misty interjected. "Violet here wants to go to Kalos for some Showcases. Yes, you do," she added when her sister was about to interject. "You're not someone who just thinks about something."

A host of emotions – exasperation, embarrassment, fondness – crossed Violet's face. "You're right," she admitted.

"Course I am," Misty replied. "Anyway, since we knew you were in town and probably coming to the show, I decided to ambush you. Nice win yesterday, by the way. Loved the contrast."

There were way too many questions running through her head, and she went with the first one that made any sense. "Why didn't you talk to me after the Contest?"

"Because we watched highlights last night. I had challengers all day yesterday, and there were two shows yesterday as well. And when we tried to get you this morning, you were already gone."

She had woken up early, and had spent some time working with mareep on learning how to use Cotton Guard and her own electricity to defend herself. "Well… We're here now. I guess you want to know stuff about Kalos?"

Misty motioned for her sister to speak up. "I wasn't sure about the Theme Performances. What are they like? Everything sounded different all the time."

"That's because they are," Serena said, and Violet raised an eyebrow. "Every Showcase has a different first part. Sometimes it's a baking contest, sometimes you need to answer questions, sometime it's making sure Pokémon fit with a theme… It's always changing."

"A quiz?" the blonde said, pulling a face. "It's not going to be difficult, right?"

"What Pokémon has the move Aeroblast as its signature move?" Serena recited from memory after a moment. She saw that Misty knew, but Violet seemed to be doubting. "That's the hardest question I remember being asked."

Violet wrung her hands. "It sounds so familiar… I wanna say tornadus, but then it wouldn't sound familiar."

"It's lugia," Misty answered for her sister, and that caused a surprised gasp and a smile. "I'm guessing that was on your list too?"

"'s the other thing I thought it could be." The twenty-something turned to Serena. "And it's all about working with your Pokémon to create something?"

"Yeah, that's right. Honestly… I still think like I'm in a Showcase half the time," the teenager admitted sheepishly. "Especially for Appeal rounds. It's very similar. Just with battles here." She saw Misty grin. "Something I said?"

"My sister," Misty started, before shushing the blonde. "She deserves to know. Anyway, she loves the attention Contests have gotten, and the focus on aesthetics – how things look," she added, though Serena remembered what it meant before she did so, "is something she likes. But… She's also the most limited battler of the four of us."

"Limited battler?"

"I'm good with Water Pokémon, but… That's about it," Violet admitted candidly. "And we barely passed the qualification for the Gym anyway, years back. So I'm not gonna look for battles. Not when Showcases are a thing."

It sounded stupid, but Serena kept that thought hidden. Hopefully. "Well… If you want to know more about Kalos… I can probably help you. You're going to need to think of a _lot_ of different tricks though."

"Don't worry about that," Misty chimed in cheerily. "There's probably more she's forgotten about Water-types than you know about them."

Probably true, Serena had to admit. "So… What else do you want to know?"

 **~~§~~§~~**

Evan's houndour rolled sideways, away from the mawile's snapping jaw and the Thunder Fang it was using to try and get the nimble Pokémon to slow down. It hadn't hit yet, but the houndour wasn't used to a long athletic fight, and she was tiring.

Another Snarl came out to create distance, but it coincided with the fake mouth being opened, scoring a hard hit that maybe shouldn't have happened. Danny's eyes snapped to Evan for a moment, and he saw the surprise before he yelled to go in for the knock-out.

Feint Attack in, dodge the swipe, Ember at close range and done. Danny and Max both clapped hard as the referee ruled mawile out, and Evan immediately joined them; houndour running up as well. "I did it!"

"All as planned," Max said, trying to look aloof and failing horribly. "Yeah, that was good. I always forget mawile are Fairy-type, but you stuck with what we practised. Well done!"

Evan returned houndour, and they waited for the Gym Leader to join them. The wait wasn't long. "Planned the whole thing out, did you?" Holly asked as soon as she came within hearing range of the trio of boys on the sidelines. "The result stands, but how much help did you two give?"

Danny and Max shared a look, neither really understanding where this was going. Danny didn't think Holly was mad about it, but it was hard to get a read on the short-haired Gym Leader. "I came up with the strategy, but the execution was all Evan's," Max said at length. "Nothing wrong with that, no?"

Sharp brown eyes regarded them for a moment. "What's the rest of your team, Evan?" she asked, and when the teenager answered her, she nodded, satisfied. "Understandable then. I imagine Helena was happy with your choice of Pokémon." She turned towards Max. "Try to teach him about type limitations before too long. This trick won't work too long." Then, to Danny. "Are you ready? Any requests?"

She'd asked the same of Max, but not of Evan. "Why do you ask us that?"

"Because you have the option to. He doesn't," Holly replied. "Your reputation precedes you on this, both in what you have, and in that you're willing to vary."

"But isn't a badge about beating the Gym Leader at your level?" Evan wondered.

It got a smirk from the Gym Leader. "Correct, but only up to a point. If advanced Trainers want to take a step back to test new Pokémon, or test new strategies with them, it is acceptable," she explained crisply. "The level of execution differs less than you think."

"I do want to use a new Pokémon," Danny told Holly before Evan could ask a question that was obviously going to come. "And I won't take one of my powerhouses out in second unless I really have to."

At that, the group split up. Max and Evan headed for the small bench that hadn't been used since the first battle, while Danny made his way over to the left side of the arena, ready to get his seventh Johto badge.

The second houndour made her way out onto the arena, ready to do battle against whatever Holly was going to bring out. She'd used a snubbull and a mawile against Evan, and a clefable and a ribombee against Max. Was it going to be another Fairy-type without any secondary characteristics against him, too?

The answer was yes: wigglytuff came out, and though Danny had seen a lot of them in Kalos, he'd never scanned them to find out what their Abilities could be. He trained the Pokédex on it, finding that it could inflict Attract, and since houndour was immune to the one spritzee threw out in training, that wasn't going to do anything. Probably. There were male wigglytuff, but they were rare.

He was going to have to be the aggressor. Wigglytuff typically could take a lot of punishment, and houndour had her work cut out for her. But she was tenacious, Danny knew, and as the referee ordered the start of the match, the canine sprung forward, going into a lope and heading left to circle around. Danny knew she was capable of jumping out of the way of any attack, but there wasn't any forthcoming.

It was as if Holly was giving the first move on purpose.

Houndour cottoned onto that, and a burst of Embers shot forward, hoping to force the pink Pokémon to move, but that didn't happen. Instead, it just stood there and took the attack, wincing as the heat hit it, but otherwise okay.

The counter was an Ice Beam? Aimed at… Oh, of course. Freezing the ground around itself so houndour couldn't get close or would have to spend time defrosting everything.

Annoyingly, it was going to have to be that. She was better mixing her attacks up with Fire Fangs and general biting. "Flamethrower low," he ordered as the Dark-type started moving away from the expanding ice.

The blue melted, but it didn't hit wigglytuff because a Dazzling Gleam came out to block it; the rainbow enough to stop the flame until houndour cut it off, but the moment wigglytuff ceased _her_ blocking, the Flamethrower resumed, and this time, the fire flickered as houndour added some chemical Danny didn't understood to it. It caused the block to blow up in wigglytuff's face, and the Fairy-type skid backwards a few feet. "Now."

Now turned into a move out as a quick Focus Blast passed over houndour's head only because she stopped, dropped, and rolled out of the way of the Fighting-type attack, though she paid for it as a second hit her rear paws, sending her sprawling onto the ground.

Without any problems getting up, she went straight back to the Flamethrower, taking a page out of vulpix's book and slowly advancing on wigglytuff. The fire wasn't as thick as it had been, but it did force wigglytuff to either do something about it or get out of the way, across the ice.

Houndour wasn't able to outlast the wigglytuff's defence, though, but it was close, and Danny was pretty sure the Fairy-type was sweating profusely. More importantly, nearly all of the ice had thawed, leaving multiple good angles open for attack instead of just the head-on gap that had been cleared the first time. "Feint and Fire Fang."

The Dark-type broke into a run, heading to the right side first and keeping wigglytuff focused on her by sending an Ember to do just that. A feigned move in was met with a Focus Blast that missed miserably, but houndour didn't move in after the attack ended. Instead, she did as they had practised: wait patiently, identify the weaknesses, and then pounce.

It was only after the fifth Focus Blast – each weaker than the previous as Holly's Pokémon caught on to the trick houndour was using – that Danny's Dark-type moved in. With an unearthly howl and a mighty leap, she jumped forward, and before the Fairy-type could react, there were fangs in its chubby body.

And then the Thunderbolt appeared, forcing houndour to let go just long enough for wigglytuff to try a Double Slap, and things got frantic in melee.

At first, Danny's Pokémon could do nothing but dodge; even moving away was a foolish move because of all the water nearby – it'd just electrocute her _or_ she'd be a fine target in mid-air. Slowly, however, she managed to get in small exchanges between the ducking, rolling, side-jumping, and other tricks that kept her mostly safe. Embers, mostly, after one attempt at using Foul Play to use the wigglytuff's strength against it ended with houndour being flipped over herself.

It was hard to figure out who got out better once the Dark-type started snapping and firing back. Wigglytuff didn't hit as often due to the agility and the smaller profile, but it was not faltering in its relentless tries to hit houndour. Danny's Pokémon, on the other hand, wasn't really able to do everything she wanted: Danny saw her rear left paw drag a bit a few times – it was where the Focus Blast had hit earlier, and there might've been a bad landing on it too after the Foul Play went wrong. He hadn't been able to see that.

With a mighty howl, houndour jumped in for another Fire Fang, but the howl cost time, and it was just enough time for wigglytuff to summon a Dazzling Gleam. The aura suffused the Fairy-type, which then bit into the Dark-type as if she had been burned. She fell off, claws raking across the wigglytuff's stomach, but as the gleam faded, yellow replaced it, and with a quick punch, houndour ended up in the puddles she had created earlier.

The Thunderbolt knocked houndour out.

The knock-out wasn't really a surprise, but Danny did start as he realised that this was one of the first – the first? - times that he had been in a position where the opposing Gym Leader could counter his second Pokémon.

It didn't really complicate matters. He had to deal with the wigglytuff first, and from what he had seen, there was one Pokémon who would probably work best to start out and who also had the option to just grind out anything strong against it.

Magnemite beeped neutrally as it came out, sparks on its magnets from the lack of discharging Danny had had it do in the days before, just in case he had need of the Mauville Power Plant Pokémon.

"Keep it quick," Danny advised as the battle resumed, and magnemite obeyed, sending out a tentative pair of Mirror Shots to scout wigglytuff's defences while moving closer.

It dodged. Awkwardly, too, wobbling as it nearly overbalanced before righting itself. Neither magnemite nor Danny used the opening, though – it was too surprising to see.

Danny noticed where the Fairy-type was standing now, though. "Lock On Mirror Shot," he ordered quickly. "Powerful. Then strike."

Off-grey energy met the blinding Focus Blast, but that was the distraction. As the explosion happened, blocking Danny's sight of wigglytuff, and its sight of magnemite, electricity danced on the magnets, striking not the Pokémon itself – the bulk insulated a bit – but the ground at its feet, forcing a jerking reaction as the water was very uncomfortable to stand in.

A thud announced that the wigglytuff had fallen over in its attempt to get out of the water, and that made it an easy target for another Mirror Shot – to the temple, right onto a blister, if Danny saw correctly.

It was enough, and Holly returned her Pokémon the instant that the referee threw the green flag up. A new Pokémon joined immediately after; actually being thrown in as wigglytuff was returned, and it was one that Danny had never, ever, seen before.

 _Shiinotic, the Illuminating Pokémon. Forests where shiinotic live are dangerous to enter at night. People confused by its strange lights may never find their way home again._

Alolan Pokémon, Grass and Fairy hybrid… They had some weird things over there in the ocean.

The strange lights meant Confuse Ray was on the menu, which in turn meant that magnemite would have to keep distance or risk falling prey to that. He could work with that, and he told his Pokémon the same thing: to stick at range and to give it a taste of its own medicine.

Supersonic did land, but curiously, the shiinotic didn't move from where it was standing at all. That was suspicious, and Danny focused on the white-pink Pokémon, only to see green tendrils reaching into the ground.

Danny quickly knelt, running fingers over the ground, but only finding it to be the standard arena soil. That was nutrient poor – Ingrain wouldn't do anything – but with the Gym Leader's Pokémon using it… There had to be something to drain from the ground underneath.

And with no way to figure out how big it was, or any way to really sever the roots – they'd just get reapplied and Mirror Shot was a poor best option – Danny was again forced to be the aggressor. Annoying. "Mirror Shot, keep the confusion."

At least the Supersonic had hit – although Ingrain didn't really need anything beyond sending roots out, not exactly the hardest thing. Magnemite swerved a bit to throw the shiinotic off, launched another Mirror Shot, and Danny wasn't seeing anything that looked like a block.

Except then a Dazzling Gleam aura burst into life, and though it was pierced by the Mirror Shot – Steel being effective into Fairy-type energy – it was also enough to weaken the attack to the point where the small Pokémon didn't even waver too much.

A second Mirror Shot met with the exact same fate. "Come back here," Danny ordered, wanting to see if the Pokémon would launch an attack back, even as he started to think about what Holly's strategy could be.

There was something really fishy about the Pokémon just taking everything; Holly feeding it the information it needed to throw up an aura of Fairy-type energy to block incoming blows. Was there another healing move in its arsenal? Or maybe it knew something like Reversal or Endeavour – moves that got more powerful as the user became more fatigued. There had to be a plan, but for one of the first times in his life, Danny wasn't seeing it.

"Challenger, please make an offensive move."

The referee's words knocked Danny out of his thinking. It wasn't an official warning, but it was the prelude to one, and losing a match because you weren't willing to deal with the challenge of the Gym meant that you probably weren't allowed back in. "Thunder Wave."

The Dazzling Gleam was brighter, diminishing the electricity to the point where Danny doubted it'd paralyse a newborn wurmple. That wasn't going to work either.

Thunderbolt at least worked in getting through, but Mirror Shot probably did more work. Still, it was something to keep in mind as he gathered more and more information on how to bring down the stalling Pokémon.

Supersonic was met with another Dazzling Gleam, but a Sonicboom sent after it made sure the attack at least blew up in the Grass-type's face.

Then green tendrils reached out towards magnemite, who moved for the first time in what must've been a minute as the Giga Drain sought to rejuvenate Holly's Pokémon.

The Electric-type dealt with it by electrifying itself and then cancelling its levitation to cut the edges of the tendrils as they tried to avoid being caught by any counter magnemite could throw out, and the shiinotic recoiled a bit as the shock made its way back.

Then it started glowing pink, drawing in all the natural light in the room somehow. It made the Mirror Shot stand out more, but shiinotic cared not, taking the attack as the light created an impression of the moon overhead; soft white light mixing with the overhead yellow light to create an unearthly visual.

And shiinotic would be able to harness that Moonlight for healing.

Moonlight, Ingrain, Giga Drain. If it weren't for the fact that magnemite was Steel-type and shiinotic was Fairy-type, Danny would've put money on a poisoning move in its moveset somewhere as well. It was a stall Pokémon through and through, and magnemite didn't have the reserves to sustain through everything.

That left just the kitchen sink approach, as Max had called his gardevoir's holding off of Lance's dragonite. "Mirror Shot, put _everything_ into it. And I mean everything," he added to make sure that magnemite understood what he was trying to do. "One shot only."

The magnet was unopposed in getting a good position in the middle distance from the shiinotic – far enough away that Giga Drain wouldn't easily hit – and it started to channel a Mirror Shot; wider than any Danny had ever seen before.

An Energy Ball tried to disrupt it, but the massive Mirror Shot obliterated that, forcing out a Protect – of course it knew Protect – from the shiinotic. The green shield visibly wobbled under the Steel-type energy, but Danny was an expect on Protects. It was probably going to hold, or if it shattered, there wouldn't be enough in it to knock shiinotic out in one shot.

And just as Danny was about to resign himself to having to do this again at a later date – another bright glow appeared in the arena, and it wasn't the grey of the vanishing Mirror Shot.

It was the blinding white of evolution.

Magneton started moving before the evolution was even finished, immediately sending out a triple Lock On as its three magnets all did the same thing – they all connected with the shiinotic, which was using the time to try and siphon energy out of the Moonlight up above.

Then three small yellow-green orbs appeared on the ends of each pair of magnets. He'd seen those before, and magneton held the Zap Cannon for a moment to push more electricity into it. Then, they released; not quite simultaneously, but Danny instantly realised that was good.

The Protect came out, but as the first ball of Zap Cannon slammed into it, the shiinotic had to take a step back from energy recoil. Then the second one hit, causing the Grass-type to lose balance, only held half-upright by the Ingrain.

And the third pushed through, hitting, paralysing, and generally overwhelming all and any form of natural defence. Resistant wasn't immune, and Zap Cannon was one heck of a powerful move. "Don't let it recover!"

The Electric-type coated itself in electricity as it zoomed towards the fallen shiinotic that was struggling to get up between the paralysis and the awkward position from the Ingrain. The Dazzling Gleam it tried to defend with – because there was no way that Energy Ball was going to go anywhere Holly wanted – wasn't nearly enough. With a slam that kicked up more than a bit of dirt, the roots broke, the shiinotic fell backwards, and a heavier Pokémon electrified and tried to flatten it.

"Lucky timing," Danny muttered as the referee ruled him the winner. Magneton flew up, but the flight was distinctly wobbly, causing the teenager to return it. He'd go deal with some of the issues he'd already seen later. "Take a good rest.'

He joined the others, but before they could do more than congratulate Danny, Holly was close by, holding out a hand as soon as she came close enough. "I have to wonder," she said after the shake – her grip was surprisingly strong, and Danny wriggled his fingers for comfort. "Is there a houndour hiding on your belt as well, Max?"

Evan burst out in laughter, and Danny felt his lips tilt upwards at the idea of Max with a Dark-type. Even knowing what he knew, it was still amusing. "Vulpix and manectric are plenty enough for me," Max said, shrugging. "Don't have any Dark-types, actually."

"Not every type clicks with everyone," the Gym Leader said. "But after seeing two of them, I was wondering."

"Another friend of ours has one, does that count?" Danny asked, remembering Jane's laid-back houndour. "Though she's up in Sinnoh."

"Then no," came the reply, but it was delivered with a confident grin to take the sting away. "You performed well; all of you. Perhaps a bit lucky with the evolution at the end, but it was clearly close to it anyway. And as my grandfather used to say: power comes in response to need." Another confident grin. "You needed it, and you got it. The Fey Badge is yours."

On cue, an azumarill waddled up, presenting them with a small box. Three round badges were inside: varying shades of green and a bit of a bump giving Danny the idea of a low hill. Everyone pocketed one of them. "I was thinking I was going to have to come back next week."

"Honestly? Tomorrow would've been fine," Holly replied, shrugging when she saw Danny's surprise. "You understood the challenge. You did everything in your power to try to stop it. Such a loss should not be penalised with a week's introspection."

 **~~§~~§~~**

"So you always do this?" Evan asked as Danny spread the cloth out onto the wet ground. There'd been a shower while they had been in the Gym, and the sky looked like it might drop some more rain.

Max sent baltoy out quietly, and him glancing upwards was enough for the brown Pokémon to understand, he knew. After being together for over two years, a lot had just become ingrained and expected.

Case in point: baltoy quickly securing the cloth with a quickly summoned rock, before the wind could blow it away. "It's only our third one," Danny said, thanking baltoy silently. "Had one after Ecruteak, after Mahogany, and now here."

"Why not after Blackthorn?"

"Because we had lunch inside, discussing a _lot_ of battle strategies," Max replied, remembering belatedly that he hadn't told Evan about the details of how their Blackthorn challenge had gone. It was followed by realising that it was probably not the best idea to mention Reginald was there. "Both matches were recorded, and, well… things were unorthodox."

"Unortho-whatsit?"

"Unorthodox. Means unusual or uncommon," Danny supplied before dropping his basket on the ground with a small thud. "I had a three aside Double Battle with some of my most powerful Pokémon. Max had a one-on-three and destroyed the arena in the process."

Max hoped that Danny would go along with the lie he was about to craft about why Lance had shown up. "Lance was in town and he was.. Well, he wanted to know what I could do. How much I'd improved after fighting off yveltal and all that," he told Evan, whose eyes widened almost comically. "So he had me go up against one of his Pokémon. It was one of his aces."

"It was," Danny confirmed for Evan as thunder echoed in the distance. Manectric didn't even need the tap on the pokéball to come out. "He used a fire-based dragonite in the fight he had with the Champion League winner. Took out one Pokémon and weakened a second."

"And you defeated that?!"

It was a miracle Evan's voice didn't crack with how surprised he sounded. Time to find out of it could. "I didn't."

"But you..." his cousin started, before coughing just as his voice was reaching heights it hadn't reached in years. "But you have the badge, right?" he continued at a slightly more normal pitch. "Was it a tie?"

"Lance felt his dragonite was too tired to continue," Danny jumped back into the conversation. "Still think you could've won if you'd been able to draw the fight out a bit longer."

"Mega manectric and gardevoir are _strong,_ " Max pre-emptively answered. "Sceptile's the only one who's close, but his strengths are very different and not at all good for fighting dragonite." He manipulated his starter's pokéball. "But when you can give Mega aggron a good run in close combat, that's all good."

More Pokémon came out: poochyena, spritzee, helioptie all settling down nearby. Until thunder cracked again, that was, and Max saw Danny's other Electric-type shuffle over to manectric. "Enough about us," Danny said as he opened one salad-filled box. "Where are you going now? You already have the Void Badge. Which Kanto ones do you need?"

A noise of agreement. "Skipped Pewter after shorty told me to," Evan said, and Max rolled his eyes. It felt forced. "Beat Cerulean, Saffron, Celadon and then went to Viridian."

Skipping the Electric-type Gym was understandable with Evan's team. He had three Pokémon outright weak to electricity, and houndour was caught near Viridian. "So you need two of Pewter, Cinnabar, Fuchsia, and Vermillion," Max listed as he put his share of the boxes on the ground: attempts at some of the simpler rice balls Brock always made. "Which ones do you want to go to?"

"Well… Kind of want to watch you in the Silver Conference," his cousin admitted sheepishly, and Max felt a smile appear. "Pewter and Cinnabar seem easiest for that. Especially if I can hitch a ride?"

"You'll have to ask gardevoir or xatu," Max replied drily, before looking off to the side, noticing baltoy's eye slits glowing for a moment. The light overhead changed a bit. "And Pewter is closer."

"Guess I'll go Cinnabar first." The youngest of them eyed the food, and Max could hear the rumble of his stomach. None of them had eaten much since a half-hearted brunch thanks to the one o'clock battles. "How come you're so good at cooking and stuff?"

Danny laughed as he grabbed one of the paper plates, throwing some food on it. "You haven't had any yet," he said with fake modesty. "And it's called practice."

"It's always practice," Max added, grinning when he saw a scowl appear on the short-haired teenager's face, and then taking a few bites of a cold pasta salad. It was pretty good, but it missed something to bite down on.

"Thought you said both of you cooked? Back at your parents' anniversary?"

Had he said that? Probably. They'd basically spent the entire evening together and it all kinda blurred. "That was a year and a half ago. Things change."

"Except your voice."

He wanted to be mad, Max really did, but he couldn't find it in himself. Jirachi, he was going to miss his cousin's antics, even if he was lazier than a munchlax after food.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Nearly summer and it was raining. Raining, raining, raining. Keith was getting tired of the rain that had kept them in Hearthome. It wasn't like there was nothing to do or anything, but they just couldn't leave where they wanted to go. All the nearby mountain passes had been closed due to rock slide danger from territorial Pokémon and the rain alike, and as Keith moved through the Center, shopping bag in hand, he was reminded of that. It was _full._

And somehow, his girlfriend wasn't affected by it at all. She loved Hearthome and the fact that there was an art shop two minutes away from the Center they were staying at. There had been a ton of drawings that she'd made recently; some for herself, and some for others. Keith had delivered a few to Nurse Joy for sending home to their parents.

She wasn't in the room when Keith entered, and on a whim, he walked over to the empty desk, wanting to see what she was working on. From afar, it didn't look like the one she'd been working on when he left, because that one was blue at the top and this one wasn't.

What he saw took him aback.

It was a picture of, well… _him._ Standing on something that looked like stairs, pointing at something in the distance. His face – and she really got every detail in there, down to a healing pimple underneath his right eye – was contorted in anger and concentration. There were pencil lines on there too, but Keith didn't know what for.

"Should I draw a suit of shining armour for you?"

Jane giggled when Keith jumped up in response, the bag falling to the floor. "Groudon, how are you so silent?" he asked as he grabbed the socks and the snacks he'd also picked up.

"A lady doesn't reveal her secrets," Jane said, moving over, turning the paper upside down before walking towards Keith's bed. "So, any guesses what the background is going to be?"

"Probably something in a city," Keith replied as they both sat down, throwing an arm around his girlfriend. She responded by sending two fingers into his side, and he let go. "Really wish I wasn't ticklish."

Jane grinned, sheer mirth on her face. "Liar," she accused, truthfully. "You're right. It's in a city. Geosenge."

Keith bit down on his first impulse. Jane had told him a while back that she'd started to try and get an idea worked out in good detail before she began working on the drawings. There was a reason for it. "Why Geosenge?"

"Because I felt like it," Jane replied, to Keith's confusion. "It's just inspiration, dummy. I had an idea about this last week: to make drawings of everyone who was there." She grabbed his hand. "And I started with my favourite. And the easiest."

He gently squeezed her hand. "Wouldn't it be easier to draw yourself?"

Jane shook her head. "Nah. Easier than most of the group, but I see you nearly all the time. I only see myself in a mirror."

That made sense. A lot, actually. "So, you're going to draw yourself next? Why not?" he added when she shook her head.

"Don't have a good background idea yet," Jane told him. "If I finish this before we leave to Oreburgh, then I'm going to work on Max's."

"What're you going to do with him? And what's the background you're using for me?" Keith asked.

Jane pulled her feet onto the bed, kicking off her shoes. "Well, you're at the City Hall. That's what the stairs are. So it's going to be you, on the stairs, looking at the square where all the Pokémon are fighting and being all heroic."

"I'm no – uummph!"

"We all are," Jane said, taking her hand off of Keith's mouth and giving him a quick kiss on the lips. "And you're _my_ hero and _my_ boyfriend. That's all the reason I need."

He was never going to understand how girls worked, but he wasn't going to complain. "I'm not convinced yet," he said, smirking.

"Later," Jane said, even though she followed it up with a peck on his cheek. "Max's drawing is going to have yveltal in there, but as a shadow. And it's going to be all destroyed houses and stuff around him."

"And manectric?" Keith asked.

A shake. "No. Just humans. If I wanted to add Pokémon, I wouldn't know where to stop. Makes it harder."

That was something he understood. Using more than four colours to paint a miniature was always hit or miss for him, just because he wasn't sure if he'd gotten the details right. Keeping it simple worked. "I'm sure Max is going to love it. And the others are, too. What?" he asked when he saw Jane's smile falter.

"I… You think they'll like it?" she asked Keith, leaning forward, gorgeous eyes boring into his. "I… It's just that they don't really want to talk about it. Wouldn't it remind them? Or even accept them? I was thinking about making one of the Grand Champions too..."

"Of course!" Keith said. "That drawing you made for Max, Yule before last? That was still hanging in the Maple living room before we left for here. He loved it! And it's not like the famous Grand Champions won't have received any drawings before." An idea jumped into his brain. "In fact… The moment you finish the one of me, I'm going to buy another tube and ask Mum to hang it up in my room in the nicest frame she can find. So I can remember it, forever. And I'll help you with ideas for the others, too!"

His enthusiasm made Jane smile radiantly, and she pounced on him, hugging him hard. "Thank you," she whispered into his ear before giving him a searing kiss that ended all too abruptly. "I'll continue it right now!"

 **~~§~~§~~**

Danny found both of the others waiting for him when he arrived in Pallet; where the sun was not fully hidden behind clouds. He returned xatu, cast a glance around, and saw that there was a tractor nearby, pulling a cart with some metal beams. "I thought you might take the chance to to test aggron while I was here."

"More data is more data," Gary said as Danny shook both his and Ash's hands. "And just on the off chance of Max wanting to know, we can let him know now. Anyway, you wanted to talk about him, so talk."

Nothing for it. "Since November, Max has been feeling something around some Pokémon," he started, having long decided that he was going to do this in proper order, as logically as he could. "We first found out with dusclops and drapion, but by now, it's basically all Dark and Ghost-type Pokémon above a certain strength. It's not familiarity either: he told me how he just knew where a hiding houndoom was in a Trainer battle last night. It was like eight feet away, but the Smog was blacker than Gary's shirt."

"Is he still awkward around Dark-type Pokémon?"

Danny shook his head at Ash's question. "No. He just seems more aware of them and attacks of those types. I had litwick use Confuse Ray on his back last weekend and he noticed before it connected."

Ash seemed surprised by the admission that they were doing that, but it was Gary who spoke up first. "So you're saying he's more sensitive to these types and it doesn't come from extended working with them?" he asked.

"Eh… He doesn't have any Dark-types, and only doublade for a Ghost-type," Danny said, unsure where the confident scientist was going with this. "I guess sensitivity works as well as anything."

Gary nodded, but Danny had the feeling his answer hadn't been what had been expected. "Is it going to mean anything for Max?" Ash wondered, looking at his fellow Pallet Town native.

"Unlikely. Perhaps a large group of powerful and hostile Dark-types could evoke flashbacks, but that is more psychology than anything else." The brunet shrugged smoothly. "I concur with the observations, by the way. He seemed acutely aware of where umbreon was last week."

"So… He's fine?" Ash asked.

Gary scoffed as Danny was inclined to agree. "Apart from being forced out of his home country, nearly getting kidnapped last week, and having a run-in with a Greater Legendary… He's fine by _your standards_ , yes," he finished with a significant look at Danny. "Does he know? Consciously?"

"No." Danny was completely sure of that. "He just thinks he's more used to things from, well… Years and years of practice." He attempted to give Ash a significant look of his own. "You think I should tell him?"

"That's up for you to decide," Gary told him. "But we won't get further on understanding it without him knowing, so that's my bit. Now, I'm assuming aggron's with you considering I didn't see him on the ranch today?"

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _In an attempt to boost its audience, the Indigo Grand Festival will now take place over four days and ending on the first Sunday of August. For this year's edition, this means that the start is on Thursday July 31st. Coordinators seeking to participate in the Grand Festival will have until the 29th to register at an Indigo Plateau Pokémon Center, though earlier is always recommended._


	18. The Longest Day

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 17: The Longest Day**

Birch lightly tapped the pen he had been using to write down occasional comments earlier in the day against the table. The first hour of discussion on what needed to be done in order to protect against the ongoing Pokémon attacks had been surprisingly fruitful, with common sense ideas to protect some of the more at risk locations: schools and daycares; hospitals, the like.

In retrospect, it had all gone downhill once the representative of the Centrists had come in. Birch hadn't been certain only opposition politicians and various representatives from at-risk branches had been there for a round table discussion, even if it was on a Saturday, but after fifteen minutes of increasingly tetchy and unsupported nonsense, he had concluded that it had been for the better.

That had been an hour and a half back.

"It beggars belief that you're insisting on bringing impressionable children into contact with Pokémon they are prohibited to train," the man said, and Birch lightly dashed a tally onto the bottom of his sheet, next to his shorthand for the prohibited Pokémon argument that had come up over a half-dozen times now in some form.

"And it beggars belief that you insist on thinking they will not head elsewhere," came the counterargument from one of the staunchest allies the scientific community had in the halls of the parliamentary buildings. Carmen Russet was a delightful woman; adamant at keeping science untainted by ideological motives, even if they aligned with her own views. That wasn't the case here, and it showed in her agitation. "The Hoenn Institute for Trainers put out a release last month, mister Herald, and new Trainers starting in Hoenn are down by nine per cent compared to the first quarter of last year. The amount of Hoenn-born starting in another region is up by an estimated twenty-three per cent."

"That is of no conse—" the Centrist politician started to reply, but then the lights went off suddenly. A moment later, an explosion rocked the building, and Birch shot to his feet. "What's going on?!"

Nobody knew the answer for that, but someone quickly sent out an oddish for an indoor Sunny Day. It cast an eerie light; and most of the dozen people in the room jumped when one of the doors slammed open. 'The building is under attack," a black-clad security agent barked. "Follow us."

Various questions were shouted, but none were answered. Birch was the third out of the room, and as he had expected, the rest of the building was cast in darkness as well. Two more agents were holding electric torches to show an eerily dark and empty hallway: there weren't many people in the building, presumably. "Who is attacking us?" Herald demanded as he exited the room.

"Pokémon, sir," came the answer. "They attacked out of nowhere. We assume Ghosts have taken the electricity system offline."

Birch ignored Herald's comment as he walked to the front of the group. "What do you need from us?" he asked.

"If you have Pokémon that can scout up ahead, that would be great," was the reply from the leader of the security forces. A flash announced the presence of a machamp. "Reports involve both Dark and Ghost-types. Darks are often ambush predators."

Scouting was possible with the Pokémon Birch had on him, and his trusty crobat came out, and so did a gliscor from one of the politicians. A quick check revealed it to be Russet's, surprisingly. It wasn't the kind of Pokémon he had expected of her. "Gliscor will cover the area around us, Professor," she stated in response to a question Birch hadn't even thought of. "Direct routes outside will give opportunities to sneak up from a side."

That caused an unwelcome shudder to pass through the group, and several others primed their pokéballs. Birch, for his part, did the same for the sceptile on his belt. "Alright, let's move."

Movement was slow and deliberate. Crobat flitted to and fro in the darkness; swishes his only tell. The machamp occasionally threw out a Foresight across the hallways to scout for hidden Pokémon that might have slipped by crobat, but nothing appeared.

It was eerie. They had started deep inside in a windowless room, and without the hum of appliances – air circulation systems, lights, even lifts – the only sounds were their own footsteps and whatever thuds or swooshes the Pokémon made. Squeaks of shoes on the floor echoed far into the distance, but they didn't cause anything but paranoia as everyone waited for Ghosts or Dark-types to find them.

Slowly, sounds from outside started filtering in. A crash here; glass shattering there… It was enough to unnerve everyone in the group, even before something audibly blew up in the distance.

"They're feral. I knew it!" Herald hissed as they turned the corner into a larger hallway; a sign on the wall giving the direction towards the main exit, but security led them in the opposite direction. "This is what you enable."

He was soundly ignored, even by nominal allies, and it was three turns later that crobat flew down, landing on the ground by Birch's feet. It stopped the group immediately, and vague thumping sounds could immediately be heard in the background. "How many?" the Professor asked softly, keeping track of the amount of times crobat's wing tapped the nearby wall as he listened to the sounds; ending up at seven. "And they're… Trying to enter something?"

"Who cares if they're trying to enter. They're animals!"

"Sounds like canines," one of the security guards that hadn't spoken up yet said; voice betraying that he was younger than the others. "Same sound my brother's herdier makes when she really wants something in the kitchen cabinet."

"There's something they want," the senior guard said, concurring. "Inside a closed room. And –" he added, stopped by a loud, echoing crack, followed by howling – mightyena howling. "And they just got it." He turned to the group, aiming his light at the ground so people weren't blinded. "The exit is nearby, but there's a pack of feral Pokémon. We will distract them. Once we have, you run outside. If you have fighting-capable Pokémon, prime the pokéballs. The situation is likely hostile."

Outside meant that Birch could use steelix at least. He looked around at the other scientists who had joined him. "Mary, John," he addressed his two direct subordinates. "You go out first. If there are Ghosts waiting, throw a Safeguard up. If anyone else has Pokémon that can do that, speak up now." It remained silent. "Nobody?"

"Got a chimecho," the teacher union representative said in a typical Dewford drawl. "Not doing that." The sound of a pokéball being enlarged was uncomfortably loud, and in the dim light, Birch made out yellow markings on the capsule. "Dino and I will do physical protection."

Nobody else came forward, though Birch expected several others to be capable of fighting. "Okay," the lead guard said as he tapped a ball on his belt. Birch didn't catch the Pokémon that appeared because he had to close his eyes from the bright light. When he reopened them, he saw something grow upwards into the shape of a machamp. "Ditto, machamp, keep them occupied as much as you can."

As one, the group broke into a half-run, abandoning stealth. It caused the pack of mightyena to appear from outside the room they were in, and Birch had enough time to commit a snapshot of the canines to memory, but then eight arms started to mow down seven Dark-types, and the humans moved past.

Dragonair and vivilion's Safeguard was the only thing that saved the group from what looked like a set of Confuse Ray attacks acting in concert, and when Birch cast a rapid look around, he caught sight of at least five Ghost-types before his own steelix and a large venusaur took up defensive posture. Sceptile came out on his own, and several other Pokémon also appeared.

And then a conflagration sprung up all around them.

 **~~§~~§~~**

"He's safe," Danny said as he ended the call on his Pokénav, feeling a sudden need to sit down. He obliged, relieved. "Smoke inhalation, but safe."

Some tension visibly left Max's body as well, even as he turned the radio back up to audible for both of them. "I know they said that there weren't any..."

"I know," Danny finished softly. He'd feared the same; that the news was somehow wrong in all the chaos. "Apparently, they got caught in the fire some chandelure caused at one of the exits, but they had enough tricks to keep the fire from overwhelming them." The news station signalled a bulletin, but after a moment, it became clear it was just a repeat, and Danny tuned it out. "Did they say anything about how many Pokémon were involved?"

Max shook his head. "Only the types. There's a conference in… Fifteen." The teenager scoffed. "Bet it'll be all about how evil Dark and Ghost-types are. Like all the others. They'll probably add Psychic-types in too."

Danny agreed, but didn't say anything, instead listening to the radio and idly finishing his almost stale lunch. There wasn't anything he hadn't already heard before or from the Pallet Town Laboratory, but every moment felt important to listen to. Maybe things became clearer or there was something he _had_ missed or…

Spritzee pecked him on the cheek; lightly, knocking him out of his thoughts and asking a question by chattering. "Yeah… Thanks 'bout that. Was kinda zoning out." He sighed deeply before looking at Max, and the anger wasn't surprising to see. "I wish we could talk with home."

"Uhuh," Max agreed softly. "It's not like I forgot them, but… It's harder to remember details. The small things, you know? Like some things your growlithe does, or Dad's slaking. Stuff I'd remember easily if we'd just talk because our parents mention them. I _hate_ it."

The venomous tone, Danny had heard before. But for the first time, he realised he could understand more than just a bit where Max was coming from. "Yeah… There's a lot of things like that… But I just want to talk to my family. The letters we sneak aren't enough."

"I went online last week, just to watch an interview with Dad. From after we ended so high in Kalos." Max laughed, but it was hollow. "Jirachi, that feels so long ago. And it felt good to just hear Dad talk. It felt _normal._ "

For a moment, Danny felt envious, but then he realised how stupid that was. "Wish I'd thought of that," he told Max, smiling weakly. "Maybe it'll make me feel better to see and hear Uncle."

He wasn't expecting the shake. "It didn't afterwards. Dunno why, but it felt all the worse for it." Max took his glasses off, cleaning them on his shirt. "What's that saying? Damned if you do, and damned if you don't?"

Danny didn't know – Max was the one who was better at stuff like that – and he didn't reply, instead leaning forward to turn the radio up a bit. The press conference was about to go live, and he didn't want to miss a word of it.

" _Thank you,_ " the Mauville police chief said. Danny remembered him: a serious man, devoted to his job. _"Earlier today, Dark and Ghost-types attacked several locations in our city, for reasons unknown. They were the parliament building; a derelict building scheduled for destruction; a small police station, and a bank. Other Pokémon also ran rampant through the streets, attacking everything that moved with fang and claw, fire and electricity._

" _Currently, our hospitals are overflowing with people. Most will recover. Some will not. I ask that the media does not report on the identities of the recently deceased until we release them, so that we can contact the family first, and that we now have a moment of silence for those who did not survive."_

The minute passed, as silent there as in the Johto wilderness. _"Thank you. As a part of our ongoing training, my force was prepared for the eventuality of this happening. Though we are not perfect, it is my sincere belief that our presence was instrumental in forcing the affected Pokémon out of their psychosis, allowing them to be rounded up. Those uncaught have been captured; those caught have been taken into custody with their Trainers notified. We will discuss what to do with the caught Pokémon later this week, once all tempers have died down, and once we have the manpower to actually do so and not hinder recovery._

" _It is possible that some of you noticed something leading up to the attack. As ever, if you feel there is something unusual that happened, please contact the Mauville police. Any information you have, no matter how small or insignificant you think it might be, can be the crucial piece of the puzzle that will allow us to finally end the atrocities that are plaguing Hoenn._ _So please, for all our sakes, don't sit on something that you think will not matter. Thank you."_

The rest of the conference was just a regular question and answer session with the standard set of questions. Nobody knew who did it, nobody had claimed any responsibility… The chief did say that he was against any further restrictions on Dark and Ghost-types, which brightened the teenager's mood a tiny bit until Max pointed out that he could be overruled by the government – which would probably happen.

At least his uncle was okay, but that was about the end of it, Danny knew, and that made his stomach ache in horror.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Phoebe thanked the stars and the beyond that Drake was in Mauville, because she had no intention of spending the night in her home off of Route 118. It was probably swarming with reporters already, and after the shouting match she had had with some or another politician… They'd be all over her.

Praise giratina that mismagius was capable of extending Phantom Force to a street or two away, even if that alternate dimension she passed through was thoroughly unpleasant. It had caused the reporters to lose her; twice over, and then she was able to spot the distinctive sailboat from atop the building her Ghost had deposited her on.

"Figured you'd come here; like a moth to a flame you are," her colleague said as she walked up the plank. She only saw him as she stepped onto the deck, and somehow, she wasn't surprised he was here. He had a habit of turning up exactly where he needed to. "The normal from all the Ghosts?"

She shook her head as they went deeper in, hearing a shout behind her to raise the anchor. "Couldn't even get to them. All taken into custody, and they didn't want anyone to come close. Most of them were wild Pokémon too." Phoebe clenched her fist. "Wish I could just find out what was happening to them, but no, our exalted politicians and police force say that nobody should talk to these Pokémon and that Psychic-types using telepathy as an intermediary aren't to be believed because we cannot guarantee the quality of the translation. Argh!"

"That came from the heart alright," a familiar voice broke in, and the two current Elite Four members saw Drake come out of a nearby room, closing the door behind him. The limited light didn't make him look all that great, she felt. "Your rant was broadcast, by the way."

Just what she needed to hear. "So I'm going to have to grovel again to some lickspit politicians," she said, rolling her eyes as she followed Drake.

"I wouldn't be certain of that," the Dragon Master replied gravely as he led them to the room at the back of the ship. A radio jingle echoed through the corridor as they approached. "Just after you left, that politician you engaged with essentially called you unfit to be an Elite Four member."

"It wasn't the wisest thing you ever did," Sidney agreed as they entered the room.

Phoebe turned on them, feeling fury ignite inside. "Don't you dare condescend me for doing what was _right_ ,"

Neither of the men appeared affected. "It came from the heart of hearts; truthful and accurate both, but do you think someone like that politician cares? He was looking for a reaction, Phoebe," the Dark-type specialist said, and it was his use of her name that caught her attention. He rarely did so. "I know you're uncaring of politics, disliking it to the point that its mere mention caused you to walk out of rooms a few years ago, but whispers around Mauville are that this man, this Raphael, is a rising star in the Centrists. His word carries weight." He stepped forward, taking her hand in his, and she shuddered at how cold his fingers felt. "I do not want to lose my closest friend and ally in the Elite Four. Not when we are so desperately needed." Then, to Drake. "Tell her."

A trace of fear dispelled the remaining fury. What was she missing? What was she going to be told now? "Drake?"

The seventy-something year old sat down heavily, and even in full light, Phoebe felt he looked terrible. "Sit down," he ordered as he turned the radio's volume down. "And tell me what you know of what prompted the flight of a Gym Leader and two prominent young Trainers."

She dug through her memory, but all she could think of was the official story, which always felt a little bit off. "Just what was said, but… Even having met everyone, it just seems like they weren't the kind to engage in wanton destruction, and the G-men don't do working with underage Trainers."

"And yet, it is all true," was Drake's reaction, and the laugh afterwards was pure him. "Of a kind. Didn't you ever wonder how they made their way to Kanto? Or did you just assume Reginald's dragons took them there? Ah," he added a moment later. "The second one. Well, I can tell you they didn't. Perfect guests on my ship they were."

She pleaded wordlessly with Sidney, who had sat down at the side of the table, and he gave her one of his flasks. She chugged a bit of it back carefully, finding it was regular tomato juice. "Really, Sidney? Of all the times, now you're not drinking?" she said as she shoved it back. "And what exactly was meant with 'true of a kind'?"

"The act that they were accused of, they did, except the facility was illegal and the experiments therein torturous," Drake replied softly. "Likewise, they are affiliated with the G-men, but they weren't at the time. From what Reginald told me, it was he who offered the same opposition as you did of not working with underage Trainers, but he was convinced otherwise. To success in Kalos."

"Speaking of the Dragon," Sidney chimed in from the side, "Drake only told me an hour ago that Reginald has an interesting opinion; one so volatile it is best sat on until the right time on account of splitting the region down the middle, or perhaps along the side." The lanky Trainer leant backwards, stretching, then moved back. "And you played a part in this, meeting with that Pokémon in a place now off-limits. The legendary Ninetales of Mt. Pyre. What did it tell you to cause you to share his identity with the Gym Leaders?"

Oh, Phoebe remembered that vividly. And the terror when she was frozen helplessly; and none of her Pokémon able to react. "Something about a Dragon soon leaving, and that sharing information to those not yet in the know was going to be required. In their home," she added as an afterthought.

"Reginald told Tate in October that he suspected something," Drake resumed talking. "That there's inside collaboration. He told me when he fled, and the last missive I got from him, from Kalos, is that more people are coming to that conclusion." The old Pokémon Trainer grinned. "Drink, my dear?"

Inside collaboration? And they were dis… "Why didn't you go to the police with this? Or the politicians?" she said, feeling her voice rise in pitch. "This is insane! People are dying!"

" _Claims without proof / they just go poof,"_ Sidney quoted sing-song. "None of us can make the claim without being maligned; a courtesy extended to us due our position and government hostility."

"And audacious claims require extensive proof," Drake added, explaining why Sidney quoted a song from years back in one statement. "Until recently, there was no proof that wasn't circumstantial. But consider this, Phoebe. The facility that was destroyed had a machine that emitted an aura to send Psychic-type Pokémon berserk, and coincidentally, Psychic Pokémon were the last of the three types to start experiencing this mass psychosis." Drake broke into a cough, seemingly nearly spitting up phlegm. "Are you convinced yet?"

She was, and that terrified her.

 **~~§~~§~~**

He caught her as she closed the Gym for the day, having waited on the closest bench and listening to the events going on in Hoenn. Seven fatalities, plenty of injured including Birch senior, and the incessant bleating of sheep who wanted more restrictions that wouldn't work. They never had, they never would: any cursory study of history would prove that, but Gary knew full-well that studying history wasn't done. "Sabrina?"

The Saffron Gym Leader turned around. "Gary Oak. What brings you to Saffron?" she asked, her voice carrying effortlessly.

"Questions about psychic powers," Gary replied as he reached the entrance.

The Gym Leader's violet gaze went straight into his soul, but he held it. "Very well," she said, and the door behind her clicked open without visible help. "Follow me."

He was fine with doing it just inside of the Gym, but Sabrina brought him to a room just off the entrance, with various tools used to test human psychics lying around. The table and chairs were the more important things anyway, and a psionic sweep threw half a dozen small items onto the floor, where they bounced and chimed. "Didn't need to bring me here."

"I did. You wish to discuss the Maple boy," Sabrina said in that unnervingly flat tone of hers. She smirked – that was his thing! – when his surprise bled through. "It is a misunderstanding that there are only active powers. Many people possess affinity towards Psychic-types. It also comes with surrounding oneself with Pokémon of one type for a very long time, but not all types. You can probably guess which types."

The hint at his in-ear hadn't gone unnoticed. "Psychic, Dark, Ghost then."

"And Dragon and Fairy, but they are irrelevant here," the green-haired Gym Leader added. "Without it, you can train these Pokémon all you like, but results in battle will be suboptimal. There will not be a click, as I heard someone call it last week."

"This isn't explaining how you knew."

"Indeed," Sabrina allowed. "In my training, I've gained the ability to sense that affinity. It requires concentration, and more if it is weaker. It was very easy to pinpoint Maple's back when I visited your lab last December."

"Why didn't you ask me about it then? Or him, even?"

"Because normally, affinity does nothing, even when it is that strong. It can warp itself into active psionic powers, but it is uncommon," Sabrina stated. "I'm assuming this has now happened and that they're not in a position to come here right now?"

Finally, something she hadn't anticipated. "No," Gary said, and the reward was just a small chink in the facial mask. "It's weirder than that. Honestly, if he developed _that_ , he'd need no help from you. Not with four Psychic-types on his team." He realised it came out a bit harsh, but Sabrina didn't appear offended. "Somehow, he's managing to sense Pokémon. Dark-types and Ghost-types; the former more easily than the latter. I was hoping you had run into something like that."

He wasn't expecting the puzzled look. "That is… I have heard of this, seen it even, but it was only in Pokémon," the Gym Leader replied, and the lack of flat emotionless words was _strange_ to Gary's ears. He'd only ever heard her be stoic, even on the few televised appearances she made. "I… You will need to supply more information that is not public. An encounter with yveltal does not explain this."

Gary thanked his foresight in asking Ash for information. "In order: he bonded with the Millennium jirachi; bonded with a young ralts, intending on making him his starter; had an adventure with a deoxys; and finally the kirlia he had intended to start with died in his arms after being poached and experimented on." He made to sweep some imaginary dust off his shoulder, but froze at the pained expression. "The kirlia?"

"The kirlia," Sabrina confirmed. "Your use of 'bonded' is correct. Such a loss at that age can be crippling. And yet it might be the cause of your current problem."

"How so?"

"Having good experiences with Psychic-types at pre-Trainer ages indicates affinity, but nothing more. My best guess is that the conflux of kirlia and yveltal is causing this." Sabrina's words were soft, but back to emotionless. "I don't know details or technicalities, but my intuition is pointing towards this as the cause."

"And he himself?"

"Will be fine. Pokémon are always affected, but they learn to deal with it," Sabrina replied. "And he has proven very adaptable in the past. He will do so again," she finished, just as Gary's mind thought of something. "Speak your mind."

"Could something geared towards hindering Psychic Pokémon be used to hinder him?"

The Gym Leader studied Gary for a while. "To ask the question is to answer it, Gary Oak. You would not have asked otherwise."

That, Gary had to admit, was true.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Everyone they knew was okay: all the two people that they knew to be in Mauville. There had been a press conference in which Danny's Uncle had discussed what had happened inside the government building, while Wattson had explained what he had done to minimise the damage as best he could. The pain in his voice didn't escape Danny, though: the seven deaths weighed heavily on the jovial Gym Leader's mind.

And Max's, because that was who Max was.

Danny had asked xatu to take them to a nearby lake about a mile or three away from their camp, just to relax, but even though both of them were in the water… Max didn't really do much except float.

It wasn't like Danny felt like doing too much, but when even poliwhirl's frolicking didn't cause too much of a reaction, and the blue Pokémon was noticing… There was a limit. "You okay, Max?"

"When is it going to stop?" Max asked in return, not even moving. "And what are they going to do next? Ban people from training those types entirely?"

"The majority were wild Pokémon," Danny offered, but he knew it was hollow. Some politician had already floated some idea like that when Max was out of earshot. "You want to stop them, don't you?"

Max snorted, splashing a bit with one arm. "Yeah. I do..." He finally righted himself, and even though he was without his glasses, he got a pretty good glare off. "I don't know how people don't catch on to that it's not being done by the Pokémon. It just doesn't make sense. Phoebe's said stuff like it a few times. It's only certain types in some locations, and afterwards, nearly all of them are sorry. How do the smart people in the police or the government not get that!"

Danny quashed the annoyance that bubbled up in response to Max's undirected frustration. "I know…" he said, swimming up, stopping right next to his best friend. "But we're stuck here. We can't do anything about it."

"But I want to."

Danny couldn't help it, and he quickly averted his head to make Max not see the smile he got at the whining. "Well… If you figure out a way to get us into Hoenn, not thrown into a cell, figure out who did this, and stop them… Let me know."

The effect wasn't as he had hoped. "How are you so calm? Your uncle..."

"Would tell me that there is no sense in getting angry over something I can't control," Danny replied seriously, making sure to catch Max's eyes. "If you want to, that's fine, but… I just want to have some time tonight that I'm not thinking about that and instead having some fun. And I want my best friend for that."

A sigh told Danny that Max wasn't really happy with that, but at the same time, his arms went backwards. "Sure. I can do… that!"

What followed was a splash war the likes of which Danny hadn't seen in ages, and by the time all was said and done, he felt like there was water everywhere from the amount he'd been pelted with thanks to Max and poliwhirl. Even after getting back on land, he still felt like he was swimming a bit in his head. "Think you got water in my ear with that last bit, poliwhirl," Danny said, confirming the hypothesis in one go. His voice definitely didn't sound right. "Was fun, though."

"Would that work in a Pokémon battle?" Max asked as he grabbed a towel. "Get water in a Pokémon's ear, make them feel weird. Come out vulpix."

The fox Pokémon did come out, using a lot of hot air to help Max dry off. "Probably not. Why put water in someone's ear when you can just blast them with it," Danny opined as he grabbed his own towel. "Seems inefficient."

"But what if it's not a Water Gun. Use psychic powers to do it as a distraction, and then strike. Should even work on Dark-types," Max countered.

Okay, that made a lot more sense. Indirect attacks, something to deal with Dark-types… Trust Max to find a novel idea like that. "Still think you're probably better off to do do something more effective, but… It could work? Think the eyes are a better target."

"Deino and zweilous don't have eyes."

"And ears stuck behind fur," Danny reminded Max. "Speaking of that… You look like you need a haircut if it's that much in your eyes when getting wet."

"Yeah, and your dye's run a bit," Max said, and Danny groaned. "Can't see details, but… That doesn't look like it did before. Maybe shouldn't have gone under water so much."

"You're just saying that because I yanked you by the ankle like three times."

Max shrugged. "You're not lying."

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _She was belligerent, oppositional, and committing conduct unbefitting of an Elite Four member. In my opinion, this and the fact that she flagrantly violated the League Politics Act should lead to at least formal censure. If the Hoenn Pokémon League refuses to do so, I think it is high time that the cabinet took a better look at the latitude that they are giving this arm of the Hoenn government._

Raphael Paulson, on _Hoenn Late Night,_ responding to his vocal disagreement with Phoebe of the Hoenn Elite Four.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Shorter than planned, but one scene at the end felt incredibly awkward and forced, so it got cut pretty late. Still a fairly eventful chapter.


	19. Light Of Summer

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 18: Light Of Summer**

The home adjacent to the Petalburg Gym hadn't changed too much outwardly, Philip noticed as he headed up the garden path, though the bell was different. Then again, the last time he'd heard that had been a long time ago.

"Philip!" Norman said as he opened the door fully, surprised at seeing his brother-in-law. "I didn't know you were in town. Come in."

He did, and he saw the same things as he'd seen the last time he was there. Family pictures, humans and Pokémon alike, and oddly… "You kept the pictures with your son?"

"An accusation is no proof, and Max would never let harm come to a kirlia if he could help it." It sounded rehearsed, which it probably was. Or at least tired and old after seven months. "And be honest, Philip. Would you stop loving your son because he did what he thought was the right thing?"

That path led to well-intentioned extremism, but it was equally understandable after what had happened in Kalos. "There aren't any right answers to that question, Norman," he returned as they entered the living room. Caroline was nowhere in sight. "My sister-in-law's out?"

Norman grabbed a glass, handing it to Philip. "You just missed her. Night at the ballet with friends, and they're heading out for dinner first," the Gym Leader replied as he took a seat in a well-worn chair. "What brings you here? Work?"

"Work," Philip confirmed, grabbing a seat of his own on the sofa. "Or adjacent to it. Three day conference on cybersecurity and how to protect networks. Pretty important."

He leant forward to fill the glass with water from the carafe, offering it to Norman, but getting a nod towards the other glass on the table: three quarters full still. "I can imagine that the government wouldn't want their secrets to be out on the street, no. I am surprised that they let you, though, after last weekend."

Philip shrugged. "The network wasn't accessed as far as we can tell. The rotom seemed to stick to the electricity in the building instead of the software. Makes my life a bit easier and got me to borrow a Pokémon for a while." He leant to the side, enlarging and opening the borrowed pokéball. "My nephew's magneton. For emergency power and defending."

Practised eyes roved over the Pokémon. "Looks like it is used to regular use. What's your nephew do again?"

"Construction. Specifically: making sure all the electricity and cables are done right." Which made a magneton a perfect Pokémon. "You mind if it goes to your greenhouse? It's a bit of a social type."

That got a laugh out of the Gym Leader. "A social magneton. Aren't they social by nature? There's three of them?" he quipped, getting up to open the door. "The door's unlocked I think. Take the second left," he told the Electric-type, which flew out afterwards. "Where are you staying, by the way?"

"Fuja, near the hospital," Philip replied. "The noise doesn't bother me and it's close to where the conference is. And on the road to Rustboro. No need to make the travel even longer."

"Night boat from Lilycove to Granite or..."

"Right in one. Really regretting not picking up a good Flying-type for transportation back when I was younger now. Then again, Louise is afraid of heights, so..."

The two lapsed into companionable silence, and Philip took his time to take a look around the living room. As before, there were portraits of everyone, but the ones featuring the Maple children were most interesting. May had a wall to herself, with pictures of various Grand Festivals and other random moments, basically from the moment she started out. Max appeared in one or two of the earlier ones randomly, as well as the family pictures, but the pictures with just the youngest in them weren't easily visible.

"Behind you," Norman said suddenly. "And I do hope you're not about to be as rude as the last person who works for the government about it."

Now he saw them; more lined up like a portrait through time on the wall next to the exit to the hallway. The most recent picture was obviously taken not too long before the teenagers had fled from Hoenn, back in November. "I've gotten questions of my own about them, Norman. And more after Evan was spotted in their company at the Indigo League."

"And what did you tell your superiors?"

There was hidden ice in that voice. "The truth that Evan never told me about meeting them. You know we don't have a videophone, and despite what Louise wants, writing is… Not his thing."

"Ah," Norman said, as if it explained everything. "One three line letter every month?"

"You're not exaggerating too much." The last letter had said something about heading for the Fairy-type Gym, but nothing about who Evan had apparently ended up meeting. On both counts. "You know how boys are, Norman. Writing when you're out there, being all grown-up… It's boring."

His brother-in-law wanted to retort something, he could tell, but didn't. Philip wasn't surprised; Max always seemed like someone who would take the time to write if they couldn't talk. "I guess I didn't write too much when I was young either. Just so much to be—"

The sound of glass breaking came from the greenhouse, and both of the men instantly shot up to their feet; a hand on their belt out of reflex. "What was that?"

"Sounded like something broke," Norman said, relaxing now that there weren't any more sounds coming from there. Logical: if there weren't, then it wasn't someone breaking in or being extremely stupid in trying to steal Gym Leader Pokémon. "It does happen from time to time. I have a rowdy bunch of Pokémon." He walked over to the door. "Let's go find out?"

"Yes. Let's," Philip said, not correcting the assumption, nor voicing his own as to who was responsible and why.

 **~~§~~§~~**

The sound of a nearby battle filtered through the trees, causing Max, sceptile, and doublade to look up from where the three of them had gone to for some training. They weren't far off a road of sorts, but the area wasn't widely travelled, causing Max to halt the training with a raised hand. "Doublade, go find Danny," he whispered, and the Ghost nodded before flying out of sight.

Sceptile led him to the source of the sound, and with a leg up and a small throw, Max climbed into a tree that gave him vision without being too visible himself. A fleeting thought about being paranoid crossed his mind, but he shrugged it off as he looked at the battle of a snubbull against a murkrow that was just going terribly for the Fairy-type. It couldn't land a single hit, as the murkrow waited until the last second to dodge the clumsy charges.

A moment later, he realised the Dark-type was pretty much toying with its opponent. He looked to the sides of the fight, spotting three Trainers – two younger, one maybe his age – looking at the battle. The youngest – blond hair, pack that seemed oversized – looked barely two weeks on the road, while the other two probably had been in a League already. No contest whose Pokémon were whose then.

The sight was enough to annoy Max. The older two were just cruel, doing this to a beginning Trainer, and their laughs made it all the worse.

Snubbull was finally knocked out by the time Max walked up, but the only one who spotted him was the boy that had returned the snubbull. "See? Told ya only some stuck-up crybaby has a Fairy-type for a starter," one of the other two – a boy, orange hair with a hoarse voice – said. "Don't cry. Or do."

"It's not nice to gloat," Max said, drawing attention to him. "How about you leave him alone."

"Don't need know-it-alls here!" was the reply from the boy Max had guessed was about his age. The black-haired teenager gave a glare, but the effect was ruined by the plaster on his jaw."Get lost."

"Yeah!" the other boy chimed in. "Get lost. Go use that sceptile for something. Like raise trees. Least Grass-types are good for that."

"He's got a Fairy-type too, I bet. Bunch of babies." The teenager spat at the ground in front of Max's feet. "Like, how old are you? Thirteen? Can't be older with that baby face."

Max's fists clenched involuntarily. If they wanted to do that… "I challenge you," he said. "Both of you."

"Oh, think ya can take us? Who's it gonna be, doofus. Me, or Jack here."

"Both. At the same time."

"Deal!" the boy called Jack said immediately, going for his belt. "Gonna enjoy pounding you into the dust, know-it-all."

Max couldn't resist the roll of his eyes. These idiots had no idea who they'd angered. "We'll see about that," he said, moving away. Sceptile followed, extending a hand to the baffled starting Trainer as he did. "Two on two, to knockout!"

"A-are you sure? They're really strong. They've got twelve badges!"

Max tried for a reassuring smile at the boy just behind him. "I've got nearly as many as them. Combined," he said before grabbing for xatu on his belt, releasing the Psychic-type at the same time as sceptile stepped forward. A machoke and a sneasel were going to be the opponents, it seemed. Excellent. "Xatu," he ordered in a voice he knew should carry. "Only protect the two of us from harm. Sceptile is enough."

The gasp and the angry shouts both were music to Max's ears, but he focused his attention on sceptile, who'd rushed forwards in a Quick Attack, getting a low slice in on machoke before vaulting away from a slow Night Slash, and that set the tone for the fight. Or massacre.

Sceptile acted as Max desired him to; showing absolutely no mercy in dealing with the opponents. Machoke tried for clumsy and hard-hitting attacks that were easily parried by a Leaf Blade, if not outright forced aside by sceptile's superior skill in hand-to-hand combat. Sneasel was quicker, looking to go for the same style that Max had seen Ash's weavile use several times and aiming to disable with those sharp claws. It went low, looking for ways to cut into tendons in the lower leg, but overall, it wasn't that much faster than doublade. Good footwork and use of sceptile's tail kept it away from anything vulnerable until the time was right to strike.

One good Leaf Blade threw the Dark-type up into the air, and with a mighty jump, sceptile followed, slicing up with Leaf Blade and then smashing down with a two-armed X-Scissor that sent sneasel onto – and nearly into – the ground below. It skidded a good distance, ending up about five feet away from Max, but it was knocked out, causing another high-pitched gasp beside him as machoke was forced into a desperate two-armed block to not get hit all over the torso by sceptile's attacks.

Max noted that sceptile hadn't even been hit by the machoke after slamming the sneasel. Pathetic weaklings that didn't know what to do with a gap like that.

The flaw in the block was so obvious even Max could see it, but sceptile chose to deliberately ignore it. Instead, he went for precisely what Max wanted: a show of force that would reveal just how outclassed they were. Blades consisting of blue-green hammered away on the block, unrelenting, not allowing for even a half-second's respite. It was a matter of time before machoke would have to be returned, just as the sneasel had vanished from right in front of them.

The only thing that saddened Max was that its Trainer – the one with the murkrow – didn't wait for it to be knocked out. Machoke was returned, and the duo made to turn and run as fast as their packs would allow them. Xatu was prepared for that, depositing Max right in front of the spooked teens in just the slightest flicker. "You're not going to go anywhere until you apologise."

"Wh-who are you?" the younger-looking one wheezed out, eyes flying everywhere to find a path to escape, but always landing on the Psychic-type serenely resting by Max's side. "How did you..."

"I'm just a better Trainer, with better Pokémon," Max said coldly. "Like being humiliated like that? Apologise. Or else."

The apologies followed. They weren't entirely sincere, Max could tell, but he let them pass afterwards, waiting with returning xatu until the two boys were a good distance away.

The shout as one of them stumbled over a stray molecule of particularly dense air was music to his ears, and he turned towards the shocked blond nearby. Sceptile had kept his distance, but the guarding posture was obvious nevertheless. "How..." Max started, shaking his head as he heard himself speak. "Sorry. I'm angry at them, not you." Deep breath in, deep breath out, and the anger subsided. A bit. "How did you end up battling them?"

"I… I just wanted to practice," the boy said in a small voice. "My cousin always said you should battle as much as you can to get better."

"That's sorta true," Max agreed as he walked over to sceptile. He saw Danny emerging from the trees nearby, raising a hand in greeting. Max returned it. "But not every battle helps you get better. it's a lot more complicated than just battling."

"Wasn't expecting philosophy, Max," Danny said as he closed the gap, doublade at his side. "Do I _want_ to know what happened here?"

"Two snivelling cowards taunting… er… I never asked your name," Max finished uncomfortably. "Or told you mine. I'm Max, this is Danny, and we're from Hoenn."

The boy seemed to be broken, torn between shock and other emotions Max couldn't read, but that was okay. People always recovered at some point – he'd seen that way too many times. It'd happen. Eventually.

"I..." the boy finally said after a full two minutes of silence. "I'm Ricky. From Johto." He tried to steel himself visibly to keep the trembling out of his voice. "Th-thank you." He gulped. "I… Sorry."

The awkwardness of it all was getting to Max as well, and he had no idea how what to say to Ricky to knock him out of the seeming paralysis.

"Hey, Ricky?" Danny said, bending his knees just a bit so his eyes were a lot more level with the boy's. "I didn't see anything. Can you tell me what happened? Doesn't have to be long."

Somehow, Danny's calm and almost soothing tone got through the shell a bit. "I… I challenged two Trainers, but they… They were really strong. And… And they insulted snubbull," Ricky said, slowly. "And then… You showed up and beat them. With one Pokémon!"

It was the most emotion Max had heard Ricky use so far. "They were toying with the snubbull and being rude to Ricky," he added. "So I gave them a taste of their own medicine. Was over pretty fast."

"You used sceptile. I'd be surprised if it wasn't," Danny commented drily. "What did they say about snubbull?"

"Uh… That she's a trash Pokémon… Fairy-types are stupid… Stuff like that."

"Kay. I'm gonna tell you something important. You ready?" Danny asked, still calm and unflappable. Ricky nodded slowly in response. "There are no trash Pokémon. What's important is that you like your Pokémon, and what others think is really not worth thinking about."

That reminded Max of something. "Didn't that new Elite Four member say something about it? Karen?" He hadn't been paying too much attention that day, back in early April. Some kind of stomach bug.

"Yeah. Train Pokémon you want to train, instead of training only Pokémon you think are strong," Danny confirmed for Max. "And you should remember that too. There isn't one right way to go and be a Trainer. There's a ton of them." He straightened back up. "Now, how about we head back to camp, and you're invited too."

"Really? But..."

"No buts," Danny interjected sternly, but Max saw him smile. "Cowards love to come back later when it's safe. And I can take a look at your snubbull, too. See if she needs healing."

For the second time, Ricky appeared broken, but this time, the reason was different. He still kept his silence all throughout Max sending xatu back out and asking for a Teleport back to camp, and only after they were back a mile and a bit east did the new Trainer speak up. "That felt weird."

Max shrugged. "Eh. We've gott… Why is there a deerling lying on my pack?"

The Pokémon in question looked up at the exclamation, before yawning exaggeratedly and settling in on the lumpy contents, soaking up the rays of sunlight. Its coat was mostly green, with just a hint of the pinkish hue that it had in spring. "That's the chillest Pokémon I've seen in a while," Danny opined, snorting softly. "Guess that's why masquerain let it in."

"Masque… Oh, cool," Ricky said as the blue Pokémon flew down with a flap of its wings, landing on Danny's wrist. "It's beautiful. The colours look so… so..."

"Vibrant? Alive?" Danny asked, receiving rapid nods in return. "Yeah. 's one of the reasons I wanted one, but we never found a surskit back in Hoenn. Then he wanted to come along after we saved him and his… Hey, Max, what's a group of masquerain called?"

"It's a Bug-type. Can't really go wrong with swarm."

"Cheers. So, yeah, saved his swarm from a poacher." Danny snorted for some reason. "Arceus, when did I get so calm about that?"

A poacher did seem pretty calm comparatively, but Max knew that Danny remembered exactly what had happened there. It was kinda bad form to bring that up with Ricky there, though. "Time heals all wounds, isn't that the saying?"

"You'd know more about that than I do," Danny pointed out, and Max suppressed a wince. There wasn't anything joking to be found in Danny's voice. Luckily, the byplay seemed to go over Ricky's head. "What did you do to the poor cowards, by the way?"

"I don't know what you're talki…." Max started, but he realised that Danny had his number. "I didn't order anything."

"I'm sure you didn't," Danny remarked, voice drier than Route 111's desert. "So, Ricky, did anything strange happen to the bullies after sceptile pummelled them?"

"They… Stumbled? When they were leaving."

Danny didn't reply immediately, instead grabbing the first aid kit from his pack. "I guess that's about as tame as I can expect," he said, affecting being tired of it. Max ignored that; bullies deserved nothing less. "Can you send snubbull out?"

As Ricky did so, moving a bit away to have a handy stump to put the Fairy-type on, Max felt a careful hoof tapping against his ankle, and he looked down to see the deerling look at him with… admiration? What now? "Did you like something you heard?"

"Ling!" was the reply, and the Pokémon raised a hoof carefully, pointing at Ricky's back, then tapping Max's ankle, and following it up with an enthusiastic jump. Max quickly pulled his feet back so the Pokémon wouldn't land on it. "De-de-ing!"

The gesture at Max's belt was familiar. "Did you like what I did?" he asked softly, and deerling nodded quickly. "Defending Ricky or…" he trailed off, unwilling to voice it with Danny so nearby. Not that it mattered to the Normal-Grass hybrid, who filled in the silence probably just as well. "Are you sure?"

"Just capture it already," Danny commented in a loud voice. "Don't forget, you're a Pokémon magnet."

Not that he would have it any other way, but the fact that Danny knew him so well was scary sometimes. "Well… Guess I'll have to call Pallet Town," Max said as he put an empty pokéball on the ground. The deerling and the capsule vanished soon after. "Not how I expected things to go."

 **~~§~~§~~**

Pallet Town wasn't as beautiful in summer as it had been in winter, but there was something about it that still made Serena like the place as she looked out over the small town from the hill that she'd been on before. She could see Delia hanging up some laundry in the distance, and Ash exiting out the front door. It was kind of surprising to see him in town: wasn't he supposed to be setting up all sorts of things for his new job as the Palace Maven?

When he started to walk, slowly, clearly enjoying the summer sun… Guess not. And she did want to talk to him. "Altaria? Can you go and stop Ash?" she asked as she sent her Dragon-type out. "I'll come in a moment, just need to go down the hill."

The blue Pokémon thrilled a note of harmony, sending a good shiver down Serena's spine, before lifting off, gliding down gracefully after a few flaps to gain speed.

She followed her Pokémon down the path, noticing that Ash had stopped after altaria had hailed him, It took her about five minutes to catch up to him, though. It could've been less, but it was a beautiful day and Serena never liked sliding down slopes for shortcuts. Easy way to lose perfectly good leggings.

"Good to see you again Serena!" Ash said once she drew close. "Passing through to the Cinnabar Contest?"

"Don't need to go there," she corrected Ash. "Already have five. I'm here to meet Max's cousin."

That was a surprise to the older teenager. "Didn't know you knew Evan," Ash commented. "He's not in town, though, unless he got in last night and is taking a day off. Max told me he likes sleeping late."

It was some time in the late afternoon, but from what Max had told Serena later, the twelve year old was perfectly capable of spending a day inside doing nothing, even on a day like this. "Danny asked me to help Evan with… Getting over being attacked?" she finished, unsure how to summarise. "Dunno how much you know about it."

"Probably about the same. Didn't realise they'd asked you," he commented. "Because they pulled you into the Team Flare stuff?"

"Yeah. Still don't really understand why, but..." she said, shrugging. "Ended up working, but I also promised him some time with zorua, so..."

"Dark-type lover, isn't he?" Ash said, and Serena shot a look at his left wrist, which didn't have the Mega Ring on it. "Explains why he wanted to go around here. And after what happened last weekend..." An uncomfortable silence fell for a moment, before Ash cleared his throat. "You wanna talk to Mum? You probably saw her from Route 1."

Serena shook her head, even as altaria thrilled amusement that hovered in the air. "Nah. Well, I'll probably end up doing it, but… I've got a few questions about Pokémon, and you know a lot about them."

She could see Ash wanting to comment that he didn't know as much as some others, but he thought better of it; and the crackle of electricity told her that he'd gotten some help with that. "What is it?"

In response, Serena sent out her mareep, who bleated happily at being out, and also at finding himself near another Electric-type. "It's a stupid thing, but… I keep getting shocked when I try to groom his fur, and I can't seem to stop it. The others never had it this bad."

Ash didn't answer immediately, instead looking at the two Electric-types greeting each other with a lot of sparks. "Mareep and flaaffy fur is very statically charged. It's their Ability, too," he told Serena. "Manectric can have that too, but Max's doesn't."

A fight of a mightyena against a flaaffy shot through her mind. "Can't believe I forgot that..." Serena said, sighing as she scratched the Wool Pokémon's ear, ignoring the slight shock of static. "It's a bit stupid."

"We all forget things," Ash said as he followed Serena's lead, causing a very happy bleat. "You probably need a better comb and longer rubber gloves. Ones that go up to your elbow or something. That should reduce the shocks." He glanced over at the tail. "At least Max probably taught you about discharging."

That he had, though she had to use the ground instead of swampert or diggersby like Max and Danny could. "Yeah. And I understand why Max always did it a few days before he planned on getting in a Gym Battle." That had cost her in a battle, though zorua had been able to save the battle and her fifth Ribbon. "So many things to learn still."

"It never stops." Ash smiled at her, and Serena knew he was including himself in that. "You can be seventy-five and still learn new things. Spencer sure did."

"I'm kinda surprised you're here. Aren't you supposed to be doing your Battle Frontier… What do they call them again?"

"Frontier Brains. And I'm starting next week. Just here for a day more, then everything should be done on the island." A gleam entered his eyes. "It's going to be great."

"Isn't it going to be weird?" Serena wondered, and Ash looked at her strangely. "Sorry. It's just that Gym Leaders and I guess Frontier Brains have to lose to do their job. Kind of?"

The teenager shrugged. "Maybe. But if it's a good battle, that's more important." Pikachu climbed up Ash's clothes, settling in on his left shoulder. "Pikachu and I are ready for anyone, though. Even Max and Danny."

"Isn't the Battle Frontier invite-only?" Serena asked, slightly confused. "They're not… They are?"

"Scott – he's kind of the organising guy – wants to invite them if they do okay in Johto. Something like top 16 or so," Ash replied, grinning widely. "I think we both know what the two of them can do and want to do."

Round of 16? Serena thought for a bit, but she couldn't escape the idea that Max would be horribly disappointed if he didn't make it to the quarter finals at least. And honestly, they could make it even further than that with a bit of luck. "Guess they'll be going around Kanto after all."

"Yeah. Sounds like Danny did get his wish in the end."

 **~~§~~§~~**

The moment zorua was sent out, Max's cousin was all over the Dark-type. Or he wanted to be, Serena corrected as she held back her laughter, but he asked if it was okay to pick zorua up first. Mostly of her Pokémon, at that – Max's influence definitely making itself known there.

It was a bit cute to see the boy fawn over her Dark-type. Not that Serena would say that to Evan, but she was definitely going to tell Max and Danny about this the next time they spoke. "Try between the tuft and his ears. It's his biggest weakness."

No more hints were needed, and zorua started purring up a storm soon after, giving Serena the time to just sit back and enjoy the beautiful weather while her Pokémon was getting the luxury treatment. They were in the garden of the Pallet Town hostel they were now both staying in, and there was nobody else around, and it wasn't much better if you looked at the amount of people staying in the hostel.

A quiet town indeed.

"How good is he at using illusions?" Evan asked, and in return, zorua answered by showing one of his favourite tricks: morphing into a human. It startled Max's cousin, and the Dark-type reverted back before landing on his feet on the tiles. "Yikes. That's good. Can you do it again?" he asked.

Two Evans were in the enclosed garden a moment later. "He's been on a copycat streak a bit," Serena explained as she kept careful track of who was who. That had already caught her out a few times when giving her Pokémon some food – zorua loved to get more than he really should. "He's pretty good at it, wouldn't you agree?"

"I'm certainly seeing double," came a deeper voice from behind them, and all of them turned around to see Ash come out of the hostel, carrying a large bag with something in it, but Serena couldn't see what. "I'm going to guess the real Evan is sitting down."

Zorua pouted, morphing into Ash in return, but then pikachu jumped on Ash's shoulder, ruining that mirror, to giggles and chuckles all around. "Rua."

"The voice needs a bit of work," Ash observed drily as he sat down, still careful to keep the bag closed. "But that's probably not going to come up a lot. Does he use it in battle?"

"When there's a chance, but not really in Contests," Serena admitted. "The judges don't really like it. Makes it harder to score."

Ash laughed, and Evan chuckled. "I can see that," the teenager said. "Anyway, Evan… Max told me you've got a collection of Dark-types now. Four, I think?"

"They're just the shit," Evan said, and Serena had to take a moment to understand that sentence. "Sneaking up, being a pain in the ass, it's all really fun to do in battle, and they're really bloody loyal too."

"That could just be that you've got a poochyena and a houndour. Canines are loyal," Ash pointed out, but Serena could tell it wasn't going to stop Evan from thinking Dark-types were awesome. And Ash knew that. "I'm not about doing long talks. My absol, well… She did something around the lab, and… well..." he opened the bag, lifting an egg canister out of it. A white-and-black egg was inside. "It's not going to be the easiest thing, but… If you want it..."

Serena wished she had a camera on her. Holy xerneas, she had never seen someone look so absolutely floored by anything, and that included the times that something had caught Max incredibly off-guard – made all the worse because he usually _wasn't_.

Hang on, gardevoir could share memories, right? Something to ask.

Nobody said anything as they all waited for Evan's brain to reboot. It did. Eventually. "But, but… I… I've never…" Somewhat.

"It's just like raising any other Pokémon.. And like houndour and poochyena, absol are really loyal," Ash told him.

"No… That's not it..." Evan replied. "It's… This is about the..." he trailed off, tapping the side of his head.

It took a moment for Serena to cotton on, but she did before Ash replied. "Max and Danny don't know, but I did think of that," the Frontier Brain-to-be said. "Mostly to put you in my mind, I think. I don't know a lot of people who'd want an absol Egg."

Serena thought for a second. Max wouldn't – Dark-types weren't his thing, she knew that. Danny could, but raising one from an Egg? She had doubts about that. Not with where she knew they were going to go. Maybe there were others she didn't know, but… "Take it, Evan,' she found herself saying before her brain really caught up. "You obviously want it, and even I know that Ash wants the best for everyone even a bit close to him." There had been many, many stories involving that.

"And it's not like you'll be without help," Ash added. "I can help, and I know Max and Danny will probably bury you under more information than you need. Max mostly." He lifted the bag up, placing it down at Evan's feet. "Go on."

Make that two memories she really wanted to show Max and Danny; this one for sheer marvel.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Lazing in the shadow of a century-old tree felt great, but Max couldn't really relax like his new deerling could. Watching the Season Pokémon snooze was soothing, though, and a pretty good use of time while he waited for Danny to return with some wood for the fire they wanted to make later. Max had done his part for that already, getting baltoy and gardevoir to set up a fire pit of some sort.

Was it cheating to use Psychic-types like that? Maybe, but he didn't really care, and neither did Danny. Diggersby was in Pallet, so baltoy was the best they had at creating a pit. Most Pokémon had small uses like that; things you only really found out on the road. It wasn't just the classic starting trio of Types.

Drapion and Danny returned, and Max turned around to watch them, arms and claws full of a lot of wood. Magneton was also there for some reason. "Trouble?"

"No," Danny said as he dropped all of the branches on the ground near the pit. "Don't think there's another human for a mile or two. Either that, or I found the jackpot on Berries. That basket of yours in your pack?"

"Should be near the top," Max said as he got up, stretching. "Why's magneton out then?"

For some reason, Danny sighed, and he turned serious for some reason. "Magneton's been there for a minute or two or something. You just didn't notice. Then, the moment drapion and I get here, you turn around." Danny returned his magneton, but drapion was still around, walking around somewhere to Max's right, out of sight. "You sense him, don't you?"

Where was he going with this? "Yeah, don't you?"

"When we're close together, sure, a bit. But not like you say you do, and certainly not from like fifty feet away. _Like you just did,_ " Danny hissed.

Fifty… Max quickly gauged the distance. "It… Fifty feet? Wha?"

Danny sat down, and Max followed suit, numbly. "It's been kinda obvious for a while now, Max. I asked around a bit, and Gary did too, and, well…." his best friend said, hesitatingly. "We…. Can you send gardevoir out?"

This was making less and less sense, but Danny asked things for a reason usually. A quick tap and the Psychic-type sat down as well, reading the mood as he did, but remaining silent.

"Gardevoir," Danny started, still not sounding too certain of himself. "I know you sense people and Pokémon by their aura or whatever it's called. Can you compare Max's to your memory of your brother?"

" _There are… surprising similarities,"_ the Pokémon said after a moment of meditation and a faint glimmer of blue. _"How it eluded me, I do not know, but now that I see it, I cannot help but notice."_ Calm red eyes turned away from Max, onto Danny. _"Why do you ask?"_

Danny, in turn, fixed eyes on Max. "Gary said that Sabrina theorised that kirlia dying in your arms and yveltal's… Everything… Did something weird. Gave Max some kind of sensitivity in sensing Dark and Ghost-type energy," he explained. "You're always aware of all the Confuse Rays that litwick uses, even when you can't see them. You sensed drapion underground back in November. It's been going on for a long time now."

" _Remember the communication problems?"_ gardevoir added softly, but Max was certain Danny was hearing this as well. _"The ones that never occurred when I used telepathy to converse with Max? Would that count?"_

Danny gasped, before scoffing. "That's probably part of it too, yeah. And probably a million other things that I wouldn't notice… Didn't even think of that… Anyway, Max, you okay?"

Was he? Max wasn't certain, not about this nor about how he'd missed it. Of course sensing Pokémon from that big a distance wasn't common, but… He just hadn't noticed. Somehow. "It…" he said, finding his throat closed. "It's a thing."

" _Only as much as you make of it,"_ gardevoir interjected, and both Danny and Max gave him a look asking to explain. _"You are who you are, and this is a part of you. Denial has never served anyone well."_

It hadn't, but… "I need a bit to think about this, okay?" Max said. "Alone."

Danny acquiesced quickly. "I can go get the Berries I talked about," he stated. "Can I get a lift, gardevoir? On the way back, at least."

" _As long as I can eat some of the Berries."_

"There's enough for everyone."

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _Pokédex entry:_ _absol_

 _Characteristics:_ _mammalian, quadruped,_ _Dark-type._ _Avg. height: 3'11'', Avg. weight: 100 lbs._

 _Detailed information:_ _Superstition surrounds this Hoenn Pokémon. Through a quirk of evolution, this Pokémon has gained the ability to sense impending disaster, and its innate sense of morality will spur it to seek out those affected to warn them. This is occasionally misunderstood, causing them to be branded as harbingers of disaster. As a result, they are often reclusive, and their rarity makes them not commonly seen on Trainers. Despite all of that, they are calm Pokémon, with great protective instincts towards those who train them._


	20. Searching And Finding

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 19:** **Searching And Finding**

Braixen avoided the charging houndour with a graceful twirl, but dodges were all she had done so far in this third battle between Serena and Evan. It was one each after Evan won the first with butterfree against cherrim, and then zorua made short work of stunky, and this third one was definitely tilting towards the younger Trainer so far.

Not because of skill; braixen was superior in every way, everyone could tell, but she had nothing to hurt the Dark-type with Flash Fire. Yeah, using her body to slam and scratch, but Evan had told houndour to only get in close when he said to do that.

It was the worst nightmare for the braixen line, houndour and houndoom. Max had explained that at some point. Water and Dark Pokémon were a close second, but at least they could be burned with enough effort. Delphox knew moves for it, but no braixen seemed to have the skill to learn Dazzling Gleam or Shadow Ball. "Keep it up, braixen!" Serena said, trying to sound confident to throw her opponent off.

It probably wasn't working, but being confident was important in every kind of competition, and battles counted as far as she was concerned.

A Feint Attack nearly connected, but again, braixen proved she was the faster Pokémon. It was close, though, and it wouldn't be long before Evan would pull something like his cousin and start trying to chain attacks.

Time to for Serena to pre-empt that. With mental apologies to whoever tended to the trees, she pointed at the nearest one. "Get a big branch and hit houndour with it!"

A loud creaking sound and one of the medium branches flew off, wavering in its levitation as braixen had to avoid another Faint Attack. It wasn't wholly successful, Serena saw as she turned back, but her starter kept her balance.

With a burst of focus, the branch flew in. It caught an Ember attack, but the Fire-type attack wasn't strong enough to immediately incinerate the branch. It helped that there'd been a rainstorm early that morning, too, and even now, it was a lot colder than the day before. Despite that, some leaves did catch fire, but that only made the branch scarier to look at as braixen directed it towards houndour, aiming for the snout.

It ended up hitting the black Pokémon on the right flank. There was a painful yelp, and an attempt at some Dark-type move that Serena didn't recognise, but braixen whirled the branch in immediately, taking the attack and also delivering a hard smash on houndour's snout, which caused a howl of pain. A follow-up sideswipe barely missed thanks to the Dark-type dropping flat to the ground.

And then Evan returned houndour, for some reason. "Not gonna win this," he said as ducklett put water on the branch. "Not without getting houndour's teeth smashed to a bloody pulp."

"They're tougher than that," Serena brought in, but she saw the point. "Had to try something." A signal from braixen, and her starter went back into the pokéball. "Did you know Max told me about this exact match-up? Braixen can't do anything until she turns into delphox. Except Solarbeam, but we're still working that one out." Slowly, and the weather would have made it a lot more difficult today too.

"Why'd he talk about this?" Evan wondered as he walked up. "Thought you hadn't seen Max in ages, 'n Danny caught his houndour in Johto."

"Team Flare used houndoom," Serena said darkly, and the boy made a sour face. "They can be kinda scary, but your houndour seems like a loveable stray type."

Predictably, that got her hand licked, and she moved it to behind the canine's ears afterwards. Houndour promptly leant into it and tried to get as much out of the scratch as possible. "She is. And she's a… A… She really likes food a bit too much."

Houndour barked enthusiastically at the mention of food, causing both of the humans to laugh. "Most people or Pokémon do. Especially our age. Right?" Serena asked, grinning at Evan, who rolled his eyes but didn't deny it. "Where are you going next, by the way? You said you needed two more? Cinnabar and Fuchsia?"

The boy shook his head, sitting down on the ground as the sun broke through the clouds overhead, instantly making it a lot warmer. "Fuchsia's pretty bad for me. Stunky, butterfree, houndour all have moves that can poison or stuff."

"Oh, she knows Smog?" Serena asked as she sat down as well, and a small burp of black smoke proved it. "Why didn't you use it in the fight?"

"And have you blow it up?" Evan replied. "No thanks. Max's vulpix did that already."

Of course Max did. It was right up his alley. "Does that mean you're not going to use houndour in Cinnabar then?" Serena wondered. "She has Flash Fire. That's a big help."

The boy beside her made an uncertain gesture. "And if the other Pokémon has it too, what then?" he asked. "Was trying to fight braixen like I'd want to do in Cinnabar."

That raised her opinion of Evan, honestly. It was probably his cousin's influence again, but that he did so and thought about it even when Max wasn't here… "You certainly gave me a good fight. Still think you should've continued the fight with braixen, though."

"We could have another one," Evan blurted out, looking surprised by his own words.

Serena suppressed a giggle. "Not now," she answered. "And don't you have an Egg to take care of?"

They glanced off to the side, where ducklett had now joined the guard poochyena near the Egg canister. "Didn't mean now. Isn't there a Contest in Cinnabar? We could go there together."

Oh, she knew what he wanted. "And how much of this is you wanting time with zorua?" Serena asked innocently, holding in a giggle when she saw Evan react to the accusation. He so wanted more time with her Dark-type. "If you can help me with Contest stuff… Sure." She saw him doubt. "Just in battles, Evan. No need to think of something yourself."

The relief was obvious. "Oh, okay. That shit's fine."

 **~~§~~§~~**

The forest was dark, foreboding, eerie. All around Max, branches creaked under the stormy wind, harsh gusts howling through the trees, sending shivers down his spine as he walked.

There was something close-by, he knew it. He felt it. He didn't know what exactly it was, but it was a place he had to go to. Vulpix was beside him, helping him out by providing light: a Will-O-Wisp dancing on the wind; flickering but never going out.

Something had come through. Branches littered the path, small and medium, some breaking under Max's weight. A pair of trees had been uprooted: one by the side, the other needing to be climbed over. It wasn't hard, but a weight settled in Max's stomach as he did.

Time passed quietly, but as he went, something started to weigh on his mind. A slight feeling of fear, easily quashed, turned into dread reminiscent of the yveltal cocoon. Max pushed through it anyway: whatever was up ahead, he needed to go there. Vulpix agreed with a sharp but encouraging yip.

Dread morphed into terror, unholy screeching firmly stuck in Max's head. "Yveltal isn't here," he told himself, voice barely above a whisper. He stopped, steeling himself, taking a deep, fortifying, breath. "Yveltal is not here," he repeated, firmly, ready to face what was ahead.

Nothing was. Visibly. And nothing was visible. Utter darkness snuffed out Will-O-Wisp, and vulpix whined, before taking an audible deep breath and exhaling flames.

Max had a split-second warning until something purple slammed into his side, biting cold draining energy. Pellets of something hit the back of his knee, buckling it, forcing him into a kneel. He brought up his hand, and something else hit it: dark, cold, _empty_ , _lifeless._ The arm dropped to his side, unfeeling, the rest of his body following as he was lifted into the air psionically.

"Weakling," a voice ground out, out of Max's sight. It was like nails on a blackboard except worse; the one word agonising already. "Easily led. Easily caught. Just like your friends."

Unnatural spotlights appeared, casting eerie light over…

Keith, wrapped in vines, tearing at and failing to get rid of some at his throat.

Jane, screaming soundlessly at blood flowing from her legs.

Serena, tied up, fire licking at her feet, kicking and stomping to no avail.

Ash, trapped in a shrinking cage of electricity, thrown around violently at every touch of the current.

Danny, frozen solid except for his hair, face oddly lit up, surprised.

They formed a five-pointed star; Max in the middle, moved around by unseen strings. "Weak. All of them. This one was more trouble."

Ralts. Bloody. Broken.

The corpse was thrust into Max's unwilling arms. His mind wanted to recoil, but he couldn't. "And now for you."

Agony. Max writhed in his bonds. He saw nothing. He heard nothing. He felt nothing but pain, building and building and building and screaming and…

" _Max!"_ a voice like thunder obliterated the pain, the sleep, _everything_ for just a moment.

Then, comfort; an embrace of warmth and love and friendship. "'pen?"

Max's throat was full and dry at the same time, but they understood. "Nightmare," Danny said from somewhere near Max's shoulder. "Really bad one. Couldn't wake you up at all."

" _It defied my abilities,"_ gardevoir added as he lifted Max up, but this time, the grip was everything it hadn't been in the nightmare.

He landed on wobbly feet, but Danny and gardevoir were there to support him. Vulpix and houndour also joined in; their tails against Max's calves telling him they were there. "Time?"

"Close to dawn," Danny told him, temporarily abandoning his hold as Max tried to open his eyes. Light filtered in, and he saw a blurry teenager move back, something in his hand. "Drink up."

The water did much to help Max's throat. "Thanks," he whispered, making to sit down and feeling gardevoir letting him. The grass was cold against his legs, but that was good. "You want to know?"

"Only if you're up for it."

He wasn't, but he had to, and so he did.

"Scary stuff," Danny drolly summed the dream up, mostly because he was probably trying to not get caught in it. Max knew that much. "How'd you know what hit you?"

That was a weird question. "I saw the Shadow Ball just before it hit. Bullet Seed just fits, and, well..." Max trailed off, gesturing towards gardevoir and himself. "It's a guess, but I remember you saying that Dark-type energy felt empty, and this really did, so it's probably Dark Pulse."

" _It sounds like it, though obviously, there are differences in sensation. Dreams aren't always that literal."_

"You kinda need to have an idea of what to feel to feel it in dreams," Danny countered, before making a face. "Does that sentence even make sense? Arceus, it's too early for this," he added on, speaking more to himself at the end. A shake to get rid of the confusion. "These nightmares aren't normal, though."

" _And yet, there are no Pokémon capable of dream manipulation in at least a mile radius, and there haven't been since I felt the distress,"_ gardevoir said. _"Unless there are non-Ghost, Psychic, or Dark-types that can do so."_

"Don't think so," Max said, trying to think of one. He didn't find any, and vulpix took advantage of his silence to snuggle in under his hand. "But I don't know everything either. Contrary to popular belief."

Danny didn't take the bait. "I know I ask this every time, but… You going to be okay?"

"Should be, but… Can I get a bit of alone time now? As much as you'll let me."

Gardevoir answered by returning himself, probably heading back to sleep, and Danny sighed deeply, but chose to not comment. Instead, he released dusclops – houndour padding over as well – and started discussing something in a voice so low Max couldn't hear it.

A twinge of phantom pain in his shoulder made him remember the first attack. He'd seen it coming. There had been room to dodge it. It had hit him on the shoulder, so ducking should have been enough.

Human bodies weren't great at shrugging off a lot of attacks like Pokémon could, but the solution was simple, Max realised as two of vulpix's tails tickled the inside of his arm, demanding attention. He gave it. Dodging was definitely an option and it wasn't even too hard.

How to train for it, though...

 **~~§~~§~~**

Danny woke up from a needed afternoon nap to strange sounds nearby. He shot up, hand on his belt, but he instantly realised that he would've been woken up if something was happening.

A deep breath to calm his nerves and he looked for the source of the sounds, getting up in the process. What he saw was… Not what he was expecting, for sure.

Max, falling flat on his belly as he tried to avoid a weak Shadow Ball from… deerling? "What on earth are you doing?"

"Deerling is practising Shadow Ball and I'm dodging them," Max said as he got up. The front of his shirt was stained green and brown, and Danny saw a small tear in there as well. He was also not wearing his glasses, and sweat was sliding down his face pretty freely. "It's… It's going okay. For both of us. It—"

A quick jump to the side, and another Shadow Ball impacted the ground, sending up a bit of dirt near where Max's feet had been. Danny traced the trajectory, revealing ninjask flying overhead, coming down after a whistle from his Trainer. And the attack had been fully behind Max, with no way he could've spotted it. "I think I can guess what brought this on," Danny said, choosing to ignore Max's blind dodge. "I would've liked it if you had told me of this before. Just so we can take precautions."

Max's Bug-type landed on an outstretched arm, buzzing merrily when a hand went to his head. "I'm out if I get hit three times, Danny. And I took off my glasses and everything so I don't break them." He gestured over to the left, where drapion and sceptile were looking like they were carefully testing with X-Scissor – a move drapion had started to pick up recently, but still had a lot of trouble with. "On the stump."

Danny opted to take his friend's word for it. "And if they hit your head?" he asked.

"They don't attack at the same time, deerling aims for my legs and ninjask for my torso. Or back," Max allowed, smiling as he sent his flyer back into the air. "And they're really underpowered. C'mon, feel it."

The Ninja Pokémon zipped over, creating a bit of purple energy between its pincers, holding it and inviting Danny to touch.

With a sigh, and mentally steeling himself, Danny did so, but it felt… Not normal, but he'd been hurt more from froslass accidentally not holding back her aura when she was blissed out from Danny's caring for her or from random sparks jumping over from their Electric-types. "Huh. You weren't kidding."

"Of course not. You'd have my head if I went for full power," Max said, and there was no humour anywhere in his face. Not that today had been a day for that; not after what had happened just before dawn. "I think you should do it too. Just for safety. We've been attacked too many times."

Danny refrained from pointing out that most of the times they'd ended up injured somehow, it was from something that wasn't easily dodged. Max's memory was better at those details than his, and it had probably already been dismissed as an argument. "I'm not against it, but maybe when it's a bit cooler? After dinner has settled? Or in the morning."

"Why?"

"Feel how drenched your shirt is first, then we'll talk," was his answer. Max obliged, and Danny quickly knelt by deerling. "Go get Max a bottle of water, okay?" he told the newest addition to their teams. "You're sweating like mad. Dehydration is real, y'know."

In response, Max took the shirt off, using the relatively dry lower bit to clear away the sweat near his collarbones. "Okay. Didn't even think about that," he admitted, looking a bit sheepish. "Guess you're right." He sat down, as did Danny, and ninjask soon landed beside Max, just before deerling ended up coming back with the bottle. "I think it's a bit too big, deerling."

Carrying a bottle by the cap with teeth had to be uncomfortable, but deerling didn't seem to think worse of Danny for it. Instead, he found a place in the sun and curled up, eyes on the group. "Is it just Shadow Ball or..."

Max drank deeply from the water first. "It's the easiest," he said afterwards, shrugging. "There aren't a lot of attacks that you can use from range, that keep their power mostly intact over a distance, and that aren't dangerous in some way."

"Bubblebeam?" Danny said, offering the first thing that came to his mind as an alternative.

"Medium range at best on poliwhirl, and it's a lot about pushing the bubbles out fast. Which can hurt." Another shrug. "Can work later on, but it'd require practice for poliwhirl as well, and this isn't her weather."

Danny ran through the moves on his team. "Pin Missile on ferroseed could work," he offered. "I think that's it, though… At least for my Pokémon. I don't think you've got a lot of better options."

"Dragon Pulse works, but shelgon is all or nothing," Max said honestly, and Danny had to agree. "Bullet Seed is faster, but also smaller, and harder to tune down. Sceptile could do it, but… X-Scissor. Which you really want to get for the next Gym, you told me. Giving drapion another turn?"

It was his turn to shrug. "Maybe. With the right opponent, sure. And we've got time to get it worked out."

Max nodded. It would be at least nine days before they'd get to the Gym, because of what was coming up in eight days. "Sceptile could use the practice as well, and I'm overdue on using him. The last time was in Goldenrod."

"Still surprised you didn't use him in the Fairy Gym. Seemed somewhere he could go to town if you'd wanted to."

"Baltoy was also overdue, and meowstic was just a good idea after that slurpuff set up Light Screens. You know she's good at getting around those." The rest of the water was drained. "No plan survives enemy contact and all that."

 **~~§~~§~~**

Lumiose City was groaning under an early summer heat wave. Clemont's collection of heliolisks loved it as they absorbed the sun for even more electricity than usual, which was needed to keep the air conditioning in the Gym working, but that was about it. The walk from home, early in the morning, had been hot already for days, and going back was worse. The showers saw a lot of use these days, and Bonnie had told him it wasn't much better in Laverre, where she was training for her next Gym Badge.

He had never understood how some of his colleagues liked battling outside if there weren't Pokémon-related reasons for it. Heliolisk was the only one of his that was good for it, and even that was risky if there was a Fire-type to take advantage of the sun if it was like this.

And battling outside in the rain? He wasn't keen on repeating that bout of pneumonia from when he was ten.

Clemont leaned back in his chair, looking at the mess in the adjacent workshop. Clembot was in parts currently, needing an upgrade to the hardware after a bit of an incident, and there were a couple of Clemontic inventions here and there, but one thing caught his eye.

A medal, behind glass, hanging beside a variety of pictures of him winning robotics contests.

Team Flare was finished, but… Others weren't. The recent news around Phlis had proved that; the fact that they'd been linked to Team Rocket was incredibly surprising to everyone. Thankfully, the Gym hadn't used any of their products, but new stories were breaking almost daily. Like today: something about how there were overrides in some of the specialised security equipment.

Clemont turned to the paper on his desk, spotting an article opposite the news about Phlis, and a picture of an obviously agitated woman in her twenties caught his eye, prompting him to read it.

A minute later, he put the paper down in mild disbelief. One of the Elite Four members in a far away region had been pushed out of her role, and half of the article was just quotes from random politicians about how she wasn't up for the job? Normally, he wouldn't have thought about it too hard, but here… There was something more going on. The Gym Leader knew it.

The reason for the dismissal was all official-like and revealed nothing, but that was nothing to someone with connections. He'd been with Professor Sycamore when that news had broken, and as luck had had it, Sycamore had spoken to Oak of Kanto about what was happening in Hoenn recently.

It had been strange how he had just given Clemont all that information, but a reminder of who was wrapped up peripherally in that whole mess had explained everything. He shook his head sadly. They had the worst kind of luck.

Sycamore had opined – and Clemont had agreed – that there were too many instances of too coordinated attacks in the last two years for it to be what the government in Hoenn was claiming. There was some machine involved too, Clemont had offered with Sycamore concurring – Pokémon didn't do things like this without reason, and as much as there were old stories of Pokémon attacking a city… They were older than even Ramos was.

Actually… Could he make a machine that would attract Pokémon and send them into a frenzy? Was it difficult, or was it something every average Jean could do given enough time and a few items?

Clemont stood up and started to pace. How to send Pokémon into a frenzy wasn't hard to figure out, but usually it was certain Pokémon, not certain Types. You used magnetism to do things to magnemite, harsh high-pitched sounds to disable most canine Pokémon, but an entire Type was something different. It suggested there was something innate to _them_ that others did not have, even if they did know moves of that type.

That wasn't too strange. The same type affinity was well-studied, but that seemed lacking in its simplicity. And it didn't explain why it had only been three Types so far. It was the best lead Clemont had, though.

Actually, there was probably someone somewhere who had tried the whole actively controlling Pokémon thing. "Rotom?" he spoke up, and the Ghost-type appeared, having been hiding in one of the dormant machines in the workshop. "Go search for Pokémon being controlled against their will. News articles or videos."

A happy little dance ended with rotom sinking through the floor, and Clemont resumed his pacing.

It wasn't real control. That was clear. The attacks in Hoenn that happened involved too many Pokémon, and you needed Legendary-grade levels of power to control all of them. Or ancient artifacts, he amended, remembering the groudon and kyogre scuffle that he'd read up on at some point. Neither of those options were all that common, and the Gym Leader felt safe dismissing them as options. That left something to attract Pokémon and send them into a frenzy, as he'd reasoned earlier.

Maybe it was attraction that was the key? Was it possible to create something that would cause Pokémon to come looking for them? He'd read something about a room in the parliament building in Hoenn being completely destroyed. Was there something all Pokémon of a Type really lo…

"Of course!" Clemont exclaimed loudly, and his voice resounded in the workshop. "The Unovan Gems." Did he still have one of those? Elesa had shown him one when she had been over for a well-earned holiday a few months ago, and she'd left it here, but had he used it or…

Clemont walked over to his odds-and-ends cabinet, and he found it immediately: a sharp-edged vivid yellow rock lying beside a case of Thunderstones and an old multi-purpose knife, somewhere around knee height. Touching it gave the sensation of very localised pins and needles in his fingertips; a very low-power electrical current or probably an imitation of that was the most likely explanation for it. "Now, how to approach this..." he mused, casting an eye around for his toolbox and some materials.

He'd barely picked up a screwdriver before rotom reappeared, looking far less happy than earlier. That answered the other question: someone had done so, meaning it was possible.

And if it was the case that Pokémon were being forced with the help of something like this, he could probably get word out to Hoenn. Diantha would probably know who to contact, and after Geosenge and the award ceremony, the barrier that Clemont had felt towards the Grand Champion had all but disappeared.

Funny how that worked.

 **~~§~~§~~**

As Danny had expected, Max had abandoned the campsite early on the anniversary of _that_ day. They hadn't spoken about what he would do, but they didn't really need to. Danny knew he couldn't comprehend the grief, but he could sympathise perfectly well. And though he had come a long way from the broken-hearted pre-teen in the days after both losing ralts and kirlia, Max would still sell his soul for a chance to turn back time to stop what happened.

Which had made it all the more confusing that Max had left the green Friend Ball behind.

So far, Danny and Max's gardevoir had chosen to ignore the donphan in the clearing, but with lunch come and gone, and Danny's stomach full… "Did Max take any food with him?"

" _I don't know,"_ the gardevoir replied, psionically grabbing the bowls that houndour and helioptie had eaten from and putting them right next to Danny. _"Like you, I was asleep when he left. I'm not even certain I know where he went to, though I have my suspicions."_ A calm red gaze held Danny's. _"You appear slightly agitated."_

"I know," Danny said, sighing. "It's not the first time he's left without leaving a note or saying anything, and I hated that. Kinda hoped he'd broken the habit." Another sigh, deeper. "Guess I can't blame him today. Still don't like it, though."

" _You are wise beyond your years for realising that,"_ the gardevoir complimented, causing Danny's face to threaten to explode with heat. _"Nevertheless, if you want to talk to him… I could attempt something."_

It wasn't hard to figure out what gardevoir meant. Not when Danny thought Max's back-up plan if he wasn't able to become the Grand Champion was to take over a Psychic-type Gym somewhere. Of course, it was probably not even a fully formed plan, but that was beside the point. You picked things up around someone like that. "If you think you can Teleport to him."

" _I believe it to be possible,"_ the Psychic-type replied softly, distantly. _"Though I don't think I can or should take more than you with me."_

Swampert was duly instructed to keep watch over the area alongside helioptile and houndour, and Danny waited patiently for a signal from the gardevoir that he should grab hold of an arm or something.

Three minutes or so passed before red eyes appeared again, but this time, they were focused on something far away, far out of Danny's sight. _"Grab hold."_

The moment he did, gardevoir hurtled them into nothingness, black overtaking Danny's vision. When he felt grass under his cheeks and hands, he realised it was because he'd reflexively closed his eyes, but opening them was surprisingly hard because with that realisation came the sour feeling of overusing muscles. In all his arms and legs simultaneously.

"Danny!?" Max shouted from nearby, and he felt Max try to get an arm under one of Danny's before a gentle sensation did it for him. "Did you get attacked?"

" _No,"_ gardevoir answered, and even that lone word sounded strained to Danny's ears as he struggled to get up himself. _"An attempt at doing something I shouldn't have, perhaps."_ A generic sense of frustration emanated from the Pokémon; distinctly foreign and very telling. Control for the Embrace Pokémon was normally ironclad. _"I don't believe I could have done it had you been much further."_

Danny got his hands underneath him with Max's help, managing to push himself up enough for a sideways glance; and the bit of what he saw was familiar. "Here?" he ground out while getting on his knees. "Not what I expected."

And a bit unwanted. The memory of the scyther cutting into his arm flared vividly in his mind.

"Here," Max agreed as he walked into Danny's view: shirtless, and were those… what? "Dodge drills gone wrong. Least I took off the shirt before it got torn."

Danny focused on Max's left side, but he couldn't see any broken skin; just bright red skin from where something had hit. Splotches made clear what the attack had been, and a quick look around indeed revealed the sceptile, looking about as contrite as the serious Grass-type ever did. Other Pokémon around were Mega manectric and Max's three other Psychic-types. Two of which hadn't been on his team that morning. "Why get your other Psychic-types and leave gardevoir behind?"

The shirtless teenager kept silent, instead looking for his shirt and finding it not long after, walking less surely than usual. Meowstic, however, did say a few syllables: ones that caused Max to shoot her a look that stated he disagreed with her doing that. _"You wanted to forget?"_ gardevoir interpreted, having recovered a bit, though still sitting down. _"Why?"_

Still, Max didn't answer, but Danny had an idea. "It's not forgetting. It's keeping so busy that you don't think about it," he told gardevoir as he got to his feet. He swayed a bit, but kept standing without aid from any of the Psychic-types nearby. "And then crashing into an exhausted sleep, too tired to even dream. You've been using the Mega bond to keep awake." Now that Danny was able to focus, he saw his friend's tired look; the drawn face and the movements that were just _off._ Had he even taken a break or had it been hours of non-stop dodging? Today, Danny didn't know. "I still don't get why you left gardevoir behind."

" _It is like meowstic told us. He wanted to forget. I_ am _a link to my brother."_ The green-and-white Pokémon rose, decidedly lacking his normal grace. _"If he wanted to give you a way to join him, I was always the one left behind. And I accept that."_

Sincerity pulsed in the area, and Danny had no reason to not believe the gardevoir's words. It was how he was; occasionally self-sacrificing and with empathy boosting his understanding of others.

In the former, the Pokémon and Trainer were definitely a great match. "Okay, but if Max wanted to do that, he could've told us." Max froze as Danny turned on him, expecting to be told off and seemingly resigned to that. "Knowing you… You probably forgot in your hurry to get away." A careful nod was the answer, and Danny let out a deep sigh. "I know how much you hate today. I wish it'd been different, but…"

"We both know wishes don't always come true," Max finished softly, smiling wanly. "But… How did you find me then? Did you..."

" _Yes,"_ gardevoir answered the unasked question. _"And I came away with a newfound reverence for my mother."_

Max genuinely laughed. "Three Teleports, two with a passenger, the other one to someone she'd only met twice, all between Mauville and Izabe," he said, effortlessly picking up on what was being referred to, saving Danny the trouble of asking. "She's incredibly skilled at it."

" _It is a talent of hers, but that she was capable of doing so to someone who she had only met twice before… It is astonishing."_ An arm went out to Max's shoulder. _"Should we head back now?"_

"Ye – No," Danny corrected himself, remembering why he'd come here in the first place. "Did you have anything to… For arceus's sake, Max," he finished when he saw the sheepish look on his best friend's face. "Not eating, dodging drills for literally hours, and using manectric as a crutch? You're going to crash so hard." He crossed the distance, taking the arm that was on Max's shoulder and wrapping his hand around it. "Take me back. I'll throw some food together and bring it back here so he can at least crash on a half-full stomach."

" _Why this course of action?"_

"If manectric reverts back, Max is going to drop like a stone. Diantha's gardevoir might be capable of Teleporting an entire suite of people and Pokémon, but you're not at that level. I'm not taking the risk."

" _Point taken,"_ gardevoir replied, but through his hand, Danny felt there was more to the answer. He looked up into red eyes, both of them knowing the other knew. _"A goal to strive for."_

And the world dissolved effortlessly after those whispered words.

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _Skilled Psychic-types have the ability to Teleport to a person they know well. It is uncommon, and it requires a connection of sufficient strength, but otherwise, it is exactly the same as a regular Teleport. The same range restrictions apply, and Trainers using this report that there is no difference in sensation either. The nature of the ability does mean that it is niche; often the only one with a sufficient bond to port to is the one who is in need of transportation. It is, however, a very useful skill to have for Pokémon that are part of a family with smaller children that are prone to toddling off on their own._

* * *

 **Author's** **Note:** Apologies for the day delay: events conspired to make me not be home most of this weekend.

Meanwhile, over in Johto, we're closing in on the eighth Gym. It's going to be a doozy.


	21. Hidden From Sight

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 20: Hidden From Sight**

Serena's Pokénav rang at eight, which was an hour later than she had been expecting honestly. It meant she got a few raised eyebrows from the others in the Pokémon Center cafeteria, but at least she hadn't been woken up by it. Or Evan. "Morning."

"Happy birthday to you," Danny half-sang before coughing conspicuously. "Am I the first to congratulate you?"

"You know Mum doesn't have a Pokénav and it's midnight in Kalos right now," Serena replied, but she couldn't keep the smile off her face. "And Evan, getting up before ten when he doesn't have to?"

"He could have congratulated you at midnight," Danny pointed out reasonably. "If you were up at that time. Stranger things have happened. Did you get our gift box?"

"I did," Serena told him as she rose from her seat, heading outside. "Haven't opened it, but I'm going to guess it's Contest stuff?"

"Do you want me to tell you?"

It wasn't a hard decision to make. As fun as opening presents and being surprised was, there was a good chance that they had given her something that she had no idea even existed, and she wasn't going to call after them. "Sure," she said as the automatic doors slid open to let her pass into the subtropical morning. "It's not going to be too much, right? I have to carry it too."

"The box is bigger because there's a set of glasses in there," Danny said. "We thought two of them were cool and one was cute, but we're boys and don't know anything about that," he added, and they shared a laugh. "The rest is a complete collection of Seals, a scarf or two, and like hair flowers? Don't know what they're called," he admitted. Serena opened her mouth to thank them, but a cry stopped her. "Oh, and a silk veil. Should fit on your head or braixen's."

It was a lot, but all of it sounded useful. There was a more urgent question on her mind, though. "How did you get all of this? Can't imagine you walking into a department store for that."

Danny chuckled. "I did for the Seals and the scarves, but we picked the other things up last week. Max went for food and came back with the rest. Jumble sale, he said."

She found a sun-lit bench and sat down. "Still doing the camping out thing? And where is Max anyway? In the shower?"

The pause was enough information for Serena. "We're going to head for the Gym today. Maybe we'll get there. Dunno," Danny said, sounding downcast all of a sudden. "Max is still asleep. He… He's not had a great week. Worse than what you'd expect, I mean."

"One of the nightmares again?" the Kalosian teenager asked, remembering that Max did have them from time to time. "Or was yesterday that bad?"

"Nightmare," Danny confirmed, and even through the Pokénav, Serena could tell he wished it was not the case. "And it's got him dodging Pokémon attacks now. Just so he doesn't get hit."

That confused her. "Why?"

"Something hit him in his dream, he says. Maybe that's true, maybe there's more to it. I don't really care about that." A sigh. "I don't want to talk about this on your birthday. Is it okay if I write to ya?"

"I guess..." Serena told him. "I'm leaving Cinnabar on the thirteenth and heading straight for the Plateau after one night in Pallet. Evan's probably doing the same if he wins." Except he would be going for Pewter, not the Indigo Plateau. "It's funny how he's really different from Max. Wouldn't know they're family if you'd just listen to them."

"They're more similar than they care to admit. Evan's a lot less mature, though. Even comparing same age. Or maybe he's actually the norm… Eh, it's kinda early to think about that."

She tried to make sense of what Danny meant, and came far, but there was something missing. "What do you mean? Weren't you and I, well…"

"Oh no we weren't," Danny interjected hastily. "I was kinda, but I had Max to… To look up to? I suppose? Whatever. That helps. And then you had that injury that forced you to think about things a lot more, and you're a girl too. You're supposed to be more mature or something."

That explanation left more questions than it gave answers, but asking more probably wouldn't help Serena understand it one bit. "Guess you have a point on my knee… Don't get injured like that, it sucks."

"We had noticed that last year," Danny said drily, before breaking out into laughter. Serena joined in. Just like that, the air cleared a lot between them. "I think I refilled the first aid kit more in the first two months in Kalos than we did in Hoenn and Kanto combined. Except plasters, maybe."

"I had to buy some new burn cream last week, but it was already mostly gone when I came to Kanto," Serena shared, trying to think of something else she had had to buy. "Don't think I've had to refill on something else yet. I've probably bought more clothes than first aid supplies."

"We probably had to buy more first aid stuff, but you need Contest clothing too and we, well… Don't. And Max doesn't seem to want to hit the growth spurt either, so that helps." There was a hint of amusement in Danny's voice, and Serena felt another grin creep up. Max's complaining was cute and amusing, but that she'd never say that to his face. "Anyway, you got anything planned for today?"

"Spa," was Serena's one-word answer.

"Volcanic and tourist island. Of course. Sounds like your kind of heaven for sure. I won't keep you from that any longer. And I need to get some food."

"Good luck in the Gym!"

"Thanks, and you have fun on your birthday!"

 **~~§~~§~~**

"And this is the most recent map we have," Elisa said as she pulled up a picture on the computer. Birch studied it carefully, noting the scale in the bottom right and gauging the size of the entire complex quickly. "Of course, trapinch are fervent diggers, and tunnels collapse from time to time, so even something as recent as this can be off."

"Do you know where the vibrava fly off to?" the Hoenn Professor wondered, not expecting an answer and seeing in the woman's body language that she had none. "It doesn't matter now, but there is embarrassingly little on vibrava habitats in the literature. And what we have on trapinch, well… You've already added a lot of knowledge."

Elisa seemed a bit uncomfortable with the praise. "It's… We've just always done this. Mostly my family, and then Hal came by after a while." She fiddled with a ring on her hand. "We just thought this was already all known."

"Most of it was, but not as detailed as you've got here," Birch replied. A door opened in the back, and he turned to see the other researcher come in. "Is it all okay?"

"Taillow is pretty sure there aren't any blockades in the way," Hal said, and his green-coloured Shiny Pokémon alighted on the back of the empty chair at the table. "Seems like last week's collapse wasn't early on in the complex."

"How often do they happen?" Birch asked, writing a few words on a pad. "And do you feel all of them as earthquakes?"

Hal scratched his head for a second. "Only the big ones, I guess. Maybe we luck into some smaller ones if we're out and about, but that's not that often. Can't set up a seismograph either because of all the digging and the rhyhorn pack nearby."

"A bigger collapse happens maybe one and a half times a month on average. Let's say two a month for the ones we miss because we're asleep," Elisa allowed. "Even then, it's usually only one tunnel, and, well, there are a _lot_ of tunnels."

"And if there aren't, the trapinch will make new ones," Birch added, getting nods from the other two. "Can you lead me to the entrance?"

Entrance, Birch mused five minutes later, was perhaps not the right word. It was a hole in the ground, perhaps twenty feet in diameter, with the walls pretty much heading straight down. The summer sun overhead shone straight down onto weathered rock, revealing the bottom to be about fifteen feet down. Easy. "Do you need meganium to give you a ride down?"

Birch shook his head no. "I appreciate it, but I came prepared." He sent out his victreebel, and the Flycatcher Pokémon let out an elated cry at being sent out in weather she deeply loved. "I'll not be long."

They wished him good luck, and down he went with the help of Vine Whip. The Grass-type safely deposited him at the bottom before being returned, and she was exchanged for his crobat and the borrowed nidoqueen in case something went wrong and he needed the muscle.

The Ground-type also carried a light to see by, and they entered the complex; the sunlight swiftly fading as a slight turn and normal distance dimmed the natural light to the point that you needed help to see more than just the bare path ahead.

With the light taken care of, Birch had his eyes free to glance around at the tunnel itself, and his hands to write down notes on his pad. It wasn't a large tunnel by any stretch, narrowing as they proceeded and forcing nidoqueen to walk single file: it was impossible to walk two abreast. Crobat's flight wasn't too hindered, but the Poison-type chose to hop-glide instead of fly for a reason, Birch supposed.

The tunnel itself was surprisingly smooth, and larger than was strictly necessary for trapinch, though with what May had told him about this, Birch understood why. A path for vibrava to fly through would have to be decently large for purposes of volume alone. The smoothness was more surprising, but it was also familiar: it was a localised form of Earth Power. And once rock was locked into place, it wouldn't collapse unless disturbed by a digging trapinch or the rhyhorn pack nearby.

He jotted down some of the observations in shorthand and moved onwards.

The path broadened after two more turns, and a secondary smaller tunnel fed into this one. It was too small to enter, being about the size for a large trapinch, but the texture of the rocks around it was the same as before. "Extensive use of Earth Power. Trapinch aren't generally considered good at it, but perhaps that is wrong?" he mused, and there was a fairly significant echo. Crobat gave him a slightly annoyed look; upset at the disruption of his echolocation, and he flew down the main tunnel for a bit.

Birch knelt by the smaller tunnel, wordlessly asking for the light and being handed the cylinder. He positioned it to shine down the hole, hoping to have enough light to study the interior by…

And something reflected the light back.

Birch flinched, but even as he did that, moving the light, he noticed it wasn't the reflection of an aron's metallic armour, or any other Steel-type. It was more like dirty glass; slightly diffuse and tinted. And out of reach, he noticed even as he tried to identify the small item.

A flash of insight at what it could be and he accepted the hand nidoqueen held out without needing to be asked to get back to his feet. "Victreebel? There is a round object in the tunnel. Can you try to get it, carefully?"

The Grass-type obliged, and a careful vine made its way into the tunnel as Birch watched with bated breath.

It felt like an eternity, but there was nothing to suggest that victreebel was failing, and that was proven right when the vine suddenly went slightly taut in a grab. Five seconds later, the Mega Stone was taken from the tunnel, and Birch had his first proper look at the markings within the small sphere.

It was dark, the stone was covered in dust, and the light was profoundly unnatural, but none of those did anything to obscure the specific colour combination. Birch knew it well, having memorised the known Mega Stones since their more widespread appearance around the world. He also knew upwards of at least two dozen people just from Hoenn who would be able to advantage of this particular one, and those were the names he thought of instantly.

But it was going to have to remain a secret. "Nidoqueen, keep this with you until later," he told the Ground-type. She seemed mildly confused, but accepting of the stone, gently closing her hand around it as crobat returned. "Is the tunnel blocked?"

Two beats of crobat's wings on the ground answered that, and the Hoenn Professor was ever so slightly disappointed at probably not seeing a trapinch. At the same time, just what he had already seen would be a great addendum to the known literature, and he sat down next to the smaller tunnel, eager to study the trapinch habitat in greater detail.

 **~~§~~§~~**

It had taken a bit longer than the several hours Danny had estimated, but even though they had manectric to cancel lightning and a plethora to stop rain from soaking them… Hard winds were still fairly effective at forcing travellers to a halt, or at least to slow down. As it was, they reached the Dark-type Gym around dinner time, but to their surprise, it was still open for business, with a Gym Trainer playing fetch with a mightyena outside. She threw the toy far away before turning to them. "Challengers?"

"For tomorrow," Danny said even without checking the time. It felt like it was close to dinner. A glance sideways at Max's watch confirmed that. "Or whenever there is room, really."

The woman took a small device from her pocket, dark hair blocking her face, tapping it a few times. "Tomorrow afternoon is okay if you're not complete newbies. Otherwise day after." She gave them a quick look up and down, and Danny knew the moment recognition dawned. "Oh. You're those two Trainers. Helena warned me you might come by."

The teenagers turned to each other, asking the same question wordlessly. They had a reputation amongst Gym _Trainers_ now? "Er, okay?" Max said hesitatingly. "Is that good or bad?"

"Not for me to decide," was the reply, and a shrug was added before she took the toy from the mightyena, giving it a squeeze. The squeak caused the Dark-type to jump with obvious joy, and another powerful throw sent it hurrying away. "It's mostly because of what you have. Helena doesn't have any, but she's willing to take challengers with one on."

That still didn't tell Danny why she knew about them. Gym Leaders, sure, they were gossips. Trainers? That confused him, but he put it out of his mind. "Any time during the afternoon?"

"Before quarter past three or after half past four. The twins nap until four and need food after."

Danny thought for a second. "Can work with that. See you tomorrow, I guess?"

There was no verbal reply, but a nod was plenty, and they started to move on.

The Pokémon Center wasn't too far away, and they moved there in silence, but once they were in their own room, about fifteen minutes later all told, Max put a hand on Danny's shoulder as he wanted to go for dinner. "That… The Gym is _soaked_ with Dark-type energy."

The older teenager turned around, leaning against the door, scratching his chin and noticing he needed a shave. "You're noticing a building now? And you didn't in Ecruteak?" That city had lived and breathed Ghost-types and the past both. "What does it feel like anyway?"

"Cold and empty, told you that before," Max replied. "And I wasn't feeling great in Ecruteak. We thought it was some kind of bug, remember?" He shook his head. "And I did end up needing some medicine, but… All sorts of shit now seems strange thinking back." Another shake, this one more vigorous, before a familiar frown overtook Max's face. He'd thought of something. "I was thinking I shouldn't use Mega manectric for it."

That seemed like a random thing to say. "Why?" Danny asked, quickly running over his own plans. Exploud and diggersby were both getting kind of restless, and they hadn't cut loose in sparring for a while, so they were on the list. Aggron probably wasn't going to be used, let alone Mega… "Wait. You said yesterday that the bond blocks a lot of the sensations you get." He made a face, certain that he was right. "Yeah, don't use it. Sorry," he added, realising it had come out too harsh almost immediately. "But after yesterday…"

"'sokay," Max said softly. "You're just looking out for me. I know."

For a moment, Danny thought the room was going to get too sappy for even Serena, but then Max's stomach groaned in emptiness, leading to a sheepish smile. "Right. Let's get some dinner. Arceus knows I could use some too."

As if on cue, Danny's own stomach joined in on the rumbling.

 **~~§~~§~~**

They entered the wooden building after being let in by the same Trainer that had met them the day before, and immediately, Max suppressed the urge to shiver. It was like walking in rain on an empty stomach, except the feeling was deeper than his stomach and not as easily ignored as rain.

But it was less oppressive than yveltal's aura. He'd survive.

They were slightly early, and the main battle arena of the Gym, surprisingly made of rock and loose soil instead of the hardwood Max had kind of been expecting, was still occupied. Not by any battles, but by the Gym Leader and a pair of Pokémon sitting around a cloth, with two smaller bundles moving on it. He realised instantly who those bundles were. "Er, sorry if we arrived too early."

The Gym Leader laughed, even as one of the babies let out a happy squeal thanks to a black raticate – an Alolan one – swished its tail out of range. She turned around, revealing… Sunglasses? Inside? What now? "I'm afraid I lost track of the time. These two are very good at making me do that." She tapped the ground beside her, and the mightyena rose, causing another squeal from the other baby, and started to walk to a pram near one of the other doors. "Pat, if you could explain the advanced rules while I deal with these two rascals?"

"Certainly, Gym Leader," the Gym Trainer replied, and the two teenagers turned to listen to her. "For Trainers with more than twelve badges across all regions, the rules of this Gym are a little different than normal. Instead of having a regular battle with normal visibility, you'll have a battle in darkness." She smirked. "This is normally where I press the button on this," she said, holding up a small key chain-esque thing that was probably some kind of remote, "but I know little Adria and Jomei there don't like it." She put the remote away. "The light is equivalent to a night with some stars and little to no moonlight. It will be a two on two battle." Another smirk. "Any questions, boys?"

Max wasn't at that point yet. He was stuck on both admiring the idea and thinking about the Pokémon he could use. Pokémon that relied on sight were pretty weak now – that ruled out both shelgon and ninjask, and sceptile wasn't ideal, but the alternative was xatu… "Wow. That's a challenge alright."

"Uhuh," Danny agreed. "And… If I can ask… Does this have to do with the sunglasses?"

"An astute observation," Helena said as she walked up. Max saw the pram being pulled away in the distance by the raticate, while mightyena was at the Gym Leader's side. Somehow, Max hadn't heard her walk up. He'd noticed happy squeals, but not the footsteps. "An eye injury early in my tenure and pressure on my optic nerve mean I have been legally blind for several years. I can see some, but it is a narrow field of vision." She turned fully to Max. "I can only see you now, and not your friend."

They were maybe two and a half feet apart, shoulder to upper arm, and Max's respect for her shot up immensely. To be a Gym Leader with that kind of disability was… It was amazing. "So your challenge is to level the field?"

"Exactly. But it is also a reminder that not every fight you have will be under perfect conditions. Pokémon can strike at night, and many Trainers panic at the lack of vision. This is understandable for newer Trainers, hence the badge limit, but for Trainers as adept as you, I expect more." A challenging smirk. "Which of you will face the dark first?"

"Him," Danny said instantly, before Max could do the same. "We alternate and it's his turn."

It really wasn't, but Max recognised what Danny was doing, and why. "Yeah, I'll go first. But… Can Danny still watch the match?"

He was expecting a solution, and therefore there was no surprise when the Gym Leader nodded. "Of course. The referee and any audience are provided with a set of night vision goggles. They will allow you to see well enough to follow the battle. Or so I am told. Pat certainly always seems to have enough sight to call the matches."

Everything duly happened after that. Danny and the Gym Trainer – Pat – donned their goggles, the lights were dimmed, and after a minute for Max to acclimatise to the reduced visibility, both of them sent out their first Pokémon. "The first match will be Max's swinub against Helena's deino. Begin!"

Deino were legitimately blind, causing Max to cancel any plans he had of playing a bit more with vision and Mist. "Smell it out and use ice."

Max's Pokémon shuffled forwards, but a keening cry, followed by a Hyper Voice, forced the Ice-type to get out of the way.

Then he lost sight and sound both as the white Hyper Voice energy reverberated and resonated on the invisible shields right in front of him. Hearing returned to the sound of an Icy Wind, and an annoyed snort by the deino proved that swinub had made his way up close enough to start attacking.

The hot whoosh and eerie green light of a Dragon Pulse appeared, but swinub had gone underground after the Icy Wind, using deino's blindness against it. When he came up again, it was in the right place, and the Dragon-type howled with annoyance – but not pain.

Swinub cried in dismay as something connected with him: an attack that hadn't lit up the area, so either something Dark-typed or just plain kicking or biting. "Keep it up, disrupt it."

A snort and the sound of rushing wind announced another Icy Wind, but this time, the deino retaliated with a Hyper Voice, underpowered enough that the two attacks only cancelled each other out instead of exploding. Helena's Pokémon had anticipated that and fired off a Dragon Pulse after it, which did hit, sending swinub flying, surrounded in green and fading energy.

The Dragon-type started running, adjusting when Max's Ice-type hit the ground, and between the clip-clop of the quadruped's feet, Max's saw orange fire light up in its mouth. Fire Fang. "Block!"

Icy blue-white hit black, blue, and orange, all within Max's limited vision, and the deino recoiled first, then roared in anger as the cold seeped into its head. A weak Icy Wind wafted over it as well, further enraging it.

And in the limited light, a red outline was easily spotted. "Underground, now!"

Swinub wasn't fast enough as the Irate Pokémon slammed into him. The momentum transferred hard into Max's light Ice-type, and he was sent off to the side, out of Max's vision, and deino went there a moment afterwards, intent on kicking and biting the everliving daylights out of its opponent.

A crash of ice announced that swinub had made a quick icy wall that was shattered by the deino, providing at least some return damage, but all Max was thinking about was why swinub didn't just go underground. He'd had the time now, but hadn't, and paid for it by being slammed around with Outrage again.

He knelt down, running a hand through the soil underneath, and finding that it was a lot more solid than he had been anticipating. How swinub had managed to get underground in the first attempt, Max didn't know, but… It explained a lot, he mused as another ice wall broke apart in the distance. This time, it wasn't followed by the sound of a flying Ice-type, which gave Max a bit of hope. "Powder Snow!"

Swinub cried out, but so did deino, rounding on him without any confusion and firing a Dragon Pulse. It scattered the Powder Snow away from itself and hit swinub, which flew all the way across the arena, sliding on his back when he landed.

The dragon hadn't galloped after it, but it wasn't needed. "Swinub is unable to battle. Deino wins the first round."

Max focused, hoping that deino was going to stick to form. A howl answered the question with a yes, and through it, he detected a waver in there. Not nearly as bad-off as he had hoped, but doable.

Which Pokémon to send out next was a bit of a conundrum. Ninjask and shelgon would get eaten alive by anything here: they relied too much on sight and were too easily countered. Vulpix was bad against deino and would get bodied by a houndoom or crawdaunt. Xatu was a Psychic-type in the Dark-type Gym. Sceptile had similar issues with sight, but was strong and canny enough to work around it, but he, too would get royally screwed by houndoom _and_ had to watch out that he wasn't burnt first.

There really was only one decision. "This is going to suck," he muttered, clearing his throat so that the referee and Helena could hear him. "Xatu, it's your turn!"

At least Danny's loud gasp was music to his ears.

The referee gave the signal, and xatu didn't move, instead waiting for what deino was going to send out. Him, though, Max saw cool energy coalesce: the Hidden Power Ice ready to be launched whenever there was a good moment.

It came quicker than Max was expecting. A Hyper Voice was easily dodged – a snap Teleport through and xatu was safe and ready to unleash the attack on the unsuspecting deino, which fell to the ground a moment later. An Air Slash put an end to the battle with as little effort expended as needed.

Max didn't know if Helena had sussed out the snap Teleport strategy – xatu was pretty silent in doing them – but sending out an absol put paid to the idea. Maybe it was too much seeing Ash's absol, who had been able to track them back in training around February, but the Pokémon's entire thing was to sense things that weren't normally able to be sensed.

Thankfully, they weren't great at ranged attacks, generally relying on their body and movement.

Of course, absol led with one of the attacks that didn't do that, throwing a spray of rocks at xatu in a Stone Edge. Tendrils of Psychic energy, very visible in the dark, snaked out and scattered the projectiles in all directions. One or two landed on absol, who had gone for a flank down the right, and as that happened, Max felt the general area become even colder in his senses than normal, and it wasn't from the absol. "Hidden Power!"

It wasn't enough to deter the Night Slash, but after the attack bit into xatu's wing, the absol sprung away with the Hidden Power hitting onto the left front paw. The harder one to block for absol, thankfully. "Air Slashes."

Max couldn't see the displacements of air beyond a few feet of them, but he was reasonably sure that most of them missed absol completely, and did nothing but to keep it on the defensive. That was perfectly fine, though, as it meant that there was debris being generated.

And between throwing rocks at absol, Air Slash, Ominous Wind, and Hidden Power, the rocks were probably the most effective at actually connecting somewhere Max wanted. "Mix it up now."

The Psychic-type vanished from Max's sight in a Teleport, and a mostly blocked barrage of rocks confirmed that absol was perfectly able to read its opponent when that happened, but it was good. Xatu had enough sight to Teleport out of range of a Night Slash or similar, and more Stone Edges meant more debris.

Ghost-type energy gathered and wove through the room, passing over absol as something Ghostly formed on it as well. There was another exchange of Hidden Power and an attack connecting, and the yelp that absol let out definitely was a sign that the plan was working so far.

It was something they trained for on occasion: to find a weakness and to exploit it ruthlessly. The left front paw was being hit, and if you took out one leg, then moving became a lot harder. Not impossible, but Max would take it anyway.

Another Night Slash formed, but this time, xatu wasn't hit, judging by the lack of sound, and absol was. A snap Teleport into something to the face, Max surmised, and the sounds that followed meant that there were more Air Slashes hitting solid ground and the occasional Dark-type.

Helena's Pokémon contributed with another round of Stone Edge, but this time, something strange happened; causing the rocks to fly outwards only at the last second; way too close for comfort for Max's sake. "Okay, now fly up!"

He had no way of telling if xatu did, but absol's feet beat a hasty retreat on the floor, moving back towards the other side of the arena before turning around and accelerating in for an attack.

Xatu performed the mid-air Teleport to avoid the lunging absol that had jumped up with a howl, but that was the Dark-type's plan, Max realised even as he did that. Stone Edge rocks appeared, heading unerringly towards a seemingly random location, and a moment later, xatu cried out in pain and spiralled towards the ground, where absol was already waiting with an X-Scissor on its horn.

"All the rocks on you!"

Psychic energy snapped out in a wave before being pulled in hard, and all of the loose debris in the room converged on the location where absol and xatu were struggling – most of that being absol delivering pain to xatu.

And then the barrage appeared, and try as it might, the absol could not avoid all of the bullet-like projectiles. Xatu helped a hand by throwing out a Hidden Power from a lying position, impacting and exploding on a paw that was about to cuff her with Shadow Claw.

Both Pokémon separated a bit, xatu skidding, absol landing hard and letting out a harsh whine as it did. It didn't end there, as the whine turned into a howl of pain that pierced Max's soul in intensity.

The lights came back on suddenly, and Max closed his eyes, opening them slowly a moment later to make sure he wasn't blinded, and what he saw was an unconscious xatu lying somewhere two thirds across the arena, and an absol nursing its left paw.

"It's a broken paw, I think, Helena," Pat said from the side. "Least, looks like one from here. Don't think she's able to fight any longer. Nor is xatu."

"Then a draw it is," Helena agreed as she returned absol with surprising accuracy for someone who was legally blind. Max followed suit. "Come here, challenger," the Gym Leader intoned.

Max did, catching Danny's eye as he crossed the pockmarked field. There were a lot of narrow furrows from the Air Slashes, and a surprising amount of pebbles and dust off to the side.

Danny didn't look convinced, though, and neither did Max feel convinced.

"A xatu," Helena began, giving nothing away in her voice. "It is not often I see a Psychic-type here, for obvious reasons. You must have great trust in your Pokémon to select one in this Gym. What makes it better than your other options?"

"He knows Hidden Power Ice for deino," Max started. "But if I'm honest… There was a gap in my team for today after you set the challenge."

"And that was?"

"Houndoom. Shelgon is the one who's best at dealing with one of those, and not moving is a pretty big disadvantage when you can't see your opponent."

"And the rest of your team was?" The Gym Leader inquired.

"Sceptile and vulpix were other considerations. Ninjask is, well… You really need sight for the speed advantage to work."

"And had you known about the challenge in advance, what would you have changed?"

Max thought for a second, but honestly, the combination of Dark-types and the darkness was a huge counter to his team. "Clefairy and manectric are options. Clefairy don't need a lot of light to see by, and manectric is capable of generating her own. Paints a target, but that's the trade-off." He raised his head, meeting only the sunglasses that he had forgotten about. "I should probably train a bit more on fighting Dark-types in darkness."

"Not against me," Helena said, and the bottom fell out of Max's stomach for a second, but then he realised the Gym Leader was holding her hand out, palm up, a black badge visible. "The swinub was too weak for this level, relying too much on its Ice-type. Deino is close to evolving and is a solid mid-tier battler. The way you dealt with absol and your reasoning afterwards tipped the scales in your advantage. To take a disadvantaged battle willingly is brave, but to twist circumstances in your favour like you did was inspired, and the sign of a great Trainer." She inclined her head at Max for a moment. "Adaptation is key, and you've proven that."

The Void Badge, a round badge with an ever-deepening spiral motif, was his. Somehow.

 **~~§~~§~~**

"You know what's strange," Max asked as they sat down in the restaurant to celebrate their eighth badge. "You're the one who's more visual, and you had it easier."

Danny shrugged as a waitress slid menus in front of them. "Water?" he asked, and Max nodded. "Two water, please." A nod and a smile, and they were alone again. "You really didn't have the team for it. Being forced to use xatu in a Dark-type Gym… Be honest. How tempted were you to send out sceptile anyway?"

It was Max's turn to shrug. "Not as much. Had to deal with the deino first, and getting an arm burnt is bad news for him. And I was scared if Helena had a houndoom. That could really have screwed me over on vulpix too. And I was right, coz you got one of those."

"True, but I kinda had the perfect team for the challenge," Danny admitted. Exploud and diggersby both had ways of sensing without sight. "I liked it, though. Really good test. Not great for watching, though. I heard you complain about the fire from where I was standing."

Max wasn't surprised. After avoiding being blinded from the lights turning on, a Fire Spin from houndoom at exploud had caught him by surprise. He hadn't been paying too much attention as the adrenalin of the battle had faded, and the attack had sent it right back into his system. Loud swearing at his sight being taken away included. "It was really good, but that'll teach me to not pay attention for a moment," he admitted sheepishly. "It's a really good eighth badge challenge too."

"It was only for Trainers with more than twelve badges," Danny pointed out, getting a roll of Max's eyes. "Point made, though. It's good to make Trainers not rely on what they see. Guess that's a big reason why she gives out the least badges."

Max nodded before shoving his glasses back up his nose. "Probably."

Both of them fell silent, choosing instead to read what was on offer. There were a lot of traditional Johtoan foods on offer, but hidden away at the end was something entirely different. A hot pot originally from Hoenn – from their area of Hoenn, in fact. Danny wasn't as much a fan of it as his parents were, but it was certainly tasty. "Check out number 35."

"Already did," Max answered, smiling thinly as he put the menu down. "I thought you weren't a fan?"

"I ate it the night before," Danny replied drily. "And I'm still not sure how I kept it in during that flight. That's enough to sour anyone, but… I wanna try again. And see if it's different here. And as a reminder of home, too," he added, knowing that Max was going to ask about that. "But that's getting way too heavy, and we're not allowed to do that."

Max shook his head, unsuccessfully hiding his smile. "Well, you started it," he said, before the waitress returned with water. He quickly ordered the food, adding an appetiser that they'd ordered every single time because it was so good, and put the carafe on the other side of the table so it wasn't at risk of being bumped into as people filtered in. That had happened before. "So you come up with something to talk about."

The blue-haired teen then fiddled with his hair, pushing it behind his ears and out of his face. "You _really_ need a haircut," Danny pointed out, and an idea arose. "Why don't you dye your hair for once? Just to see how you'd like it?"

"I like my hair the way it is."

"You've had it the same style largely for as long as we've been in school." Danny frowned at that. "That's over half your life. Live a little. Let it grow out if you think short looks bad on you." Even though it didn't on either of his parents, as far as Danny could tell. "Or just do one streak of dyed hair if you don't want to do it all at once."

"I'm not going to go red like Keith did."

That wasn't a no. "I'm a fan of grey or silver," Danny said needlessly, rolling his eyes upwards at his own unstyled grey mop of hair. It felt better that way these days. "And that should go well with blue. If you want low-key there's also some darker green." He nodded at Max's shirt. "That'd be unobtrusive and if you didn't like it… It wouldn't really be too visible for you."

"Now who's swallowed a dictionary," Max replied, and it took Danny a moment to realise why. "I'll think about it, okay? Won't do it this time, but I promise I'll consider it for the next."

Coming from his best friend, that was as good as Danny was going to get. Max kept his promises. "You could talk to Keith too. See what he thought of it. Or thinks… He's doing the streak thing right now, or so he said a few days ago. You were off getting food."

"I notice you're not telling me the colour he went for," Max observed shrewdly, and Danny's lips tugged upwards. "How garish is it?"

Danny had no idea what that word meant, but he could guess at its meaning anyway. "I think he described it as pikachu yellow." Max's revulsion was instinctive and clearly visible. "Yeah, bit too flashy for me. Blond and white are fine, but that?" He exaggerated a face, only slightly. "But whatever he likes, he likes. It's not like we're the boss of him."

"Yeah, that's Jane's job. And I'm still kinda amazed they're still together. Aren't we supposed to be all puppy love and fickle and stuff at our age?"

Danny shrugged. "Ask me again when I've actually had something like a girlfriend recently."

"Ask you after your first year at university, gotcha."

That was probably accurate, but it was also years off, and if Danny had learnt anything in the past few years… It was that trying to look too far ahead wasn't going to work.

Every single plan for having a quiet journey he had ever had were examples one through two hundred and eleven.

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _It is a little under three weeks until the Silver Conference starts, and the organisation today released the format for this edition. In a surprise move that has sent waves around Johto, the Conference has opted to go with a double group set-up, in which they use a so-called double elimination format twice. Four people are assigned to a group and matched at random. The winners fight each other for direct qualification to the next round, while the losers fight for a second chance against the loser of the winner's match. The winner of that deciding match also qualifies._

 _The battle format itself remains two on two Doubles in the initial rounds, expanding to three on three Singles until the Full Battles start in the Round of 16, similar to the last two editions._

* * *

 **Author's Note:** The Dark-type Gym and a battle in darkness. I might not have realised what I got into when I conceived this, but it was funny to write. Don't think I'll be repeating it, though. Also a pretty quick Gym battle - not at all affected by my realisation of the previous, I assure you.

I did mention, about 60-odds chapters back, that the Silver Conference varied in formats. This one is a double elimination group stage into traditional single knockout.


	22. The Feelings Within

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 21: The Feelings Within**

Swampert and exploud charged another Ice Beam up, but this attempt fizzled at medium range for both of them. Impressive for exploud, who had only expressed interest in learning Ice-type moves a week ago, but for Danny's starter, it felt a bit disappointing. He'd known Icy Wind for ages, but the translation to Ice Beam seemed a difficult one. "It's not working for you, is it?" Danny asked as he put a hand on the calloused hide of the Water-type. "Should I try and find a TM to help you?"

It was not something swampert _liked_ , Danny could tell from the way he tensed before giving him a shrug. "Pert," he exhaled, and a look down revealed that a white-and-blue aura had appeared on demand around swampert's right fist. "Swa?"

"Was that the first time you tried that?" Danny asked as he held a hand near swampert's. It was fairly cold, but more importantly, his starter seemed to be okay holding it for several seconds. And consistency had been the issue in the Ice Beams. "Let's switch to Ice Punch then." He turned to exploud. "And you seem to be taking well to it."

The purple Pokémon danced in place happily, clearly satisfied with the progress so far. "Ex! Ex!"

"Yeah, it's going to be a great help," Danny said after interpreting his Pokémon's statement. "But don't just focus on hitting the opponent. Sometimes it's better to create some ice and then try to use that as a projectile. I know you've got the control for that with your sound attacks. Think Ice Shard."

In response, exploud immediately built an overhanging pillar of ice, but stopped after Danny held up a hand. "Ploud?"

"No sending around sharp things. Others are training too. Stick to Ice Beam for now."

Satisfied that she understood, Danny moved to where froslass and swinub were busy. Mostly swinub, with froslass now hovering around here in her tutoring of Ice-type moves across both his and Max's teams. It was Ice Beam here as well, but swinub also had problems with making it extend far.

Unlike swampert and exploud, though, there was a twist that Danny saw in action as he approached. Once a certain distance had been reached, the Ice Beam didn't disintegrate, instead exploding and creating a small area of intense frost if the icy crystals on the ground were anything to go by. They immediately started melting, but there were more than a few puddles of water around.

Actually… That looked familiar somewhere. "Swinub?" Danny asked as the furry Pokémon went in for another Ice Beam. The attack vanished without a trace, and swinub turned towards Danny. "Are you deliberately doing that?"

The fourteen year old had no idea how you could do that, but he wasn't a Pokémon. He was able to read body language, and swinub's looked a lot like someone who'd been caught out, startled first, and then going back to a more neutral pose with a bit of shuffling, and a bit of cautious sniffing at the bag Danny was holding. Cautious, because he had been told off about that at least twice in the last month.

Froslass, on the other hand, signalled that it was indeed the case. "You know the goal is to use it from far away, right? You're fine up close."

The Pig Pokémon snorted disdainfully, building up what seemed to be a fairly standard Ice Beam that he sent into the distance, where it did… Barely anything at all. Even to Danny's eye, the power decrease was visible once the attack got beyond the line of puddles and ice. "Nu-nub!"

"Right, so you're making it explode like that before it peters out," Danny stated, just to make sure he was completely correct. It got him an enthusiastic nod. "You're really committed to that style, aren't you." He turned to froslass as swinub snorted happily. "I know you're still working on your move, but are you okay not practising it today?"

The Ghost-type swayed on some non-existent wind, giving him the same enigmatic smile she always gave when she was okay with something.

He left the Pokémon to their work, looking around to find out where the other Pokémon had ended up. They were in town, which meant that there was always a bit of puzzling involved on how to train using their full team. The sole full field had already been in use by the time they had arrived, which meant trying to find another place. Luckily not too far away, and more luckily, pretty much right across the street from a bakery.

Danny had asked if the land they were on now was used for anything or if it was dangerous, but the proprietor had just smiled and said that it was the unofficial second arena of Enion before asking for Danny's order.

Doublade and diggersby came into view at the same time as Danny located most of the rest. They were the only ones really moving around, and there was a flash of dark energy on the blades of the Ghost-type as he tried to land a mid-air Night Slash on the jumping rabbit-like Pokémon.

Diggersby was able to block it with one ear glowing vivid white – the Hammer Arm used defensively; its Fighting-type energy helpful against the Dark-type move as well – but the landing wasn't particularly great as the other ear went to the ground just to make sure he didn't tip over.

Doublade didn't follow up, waiting for recovery, and then the swords went back into the sheath as Danny came closer. "Do you know what you did wrong there, diggersby?" Ears pointed at the obstacle – a patch of raised land that Danny knew was sheer at the other end – and the Ground-type looked annoyed with himself. "Okay. Don't strain yourself too hard – Max and I are going to eat something and then it's your turn."

Diggersby saluted, but as he did so, doublade already came in, swords this time glowing the blue of Sacred Sword. It was a newer move, but the cheap shot attack was exactly what Danny had asked doublade to do. Attacks could come at all times, after all.

The block wasn't great, but since doublade's mastery of the move wasn't anywhere near that of his Night Slash, it was good enough for diggersby. Something to keep an eye on, perhaps, and Danny made a mental note.

He walked over to Max, still finding his friend sitting down and looking at his arm. "What did you do this time," he asked, figuring that there was some reason for Max to be sitting down.

"I, eh, might have been grazed by that combination move I was teaching ferroseed earlier," Max said, looking a bit sheepish.. "And only now noticed that it's kinda, well… This," he added, raising an arm and showing Danny that there was a shallow graze. One that had bled a good bit across Max's lower arm to boot. "But I have an idea! And it won't take long."

"I'm guessing the combination worked and that it avoided clefairy's Gravity?" Danny asked, placing the bag on the ground before crossing his arms. "That's what you were working on, right?"

Clefairy nodded in response to Danny's question, before exaggeratedly turning to Max and trying for an intimidating and motherly glare. "Fa-fairy!"

Somehow, it gave him enough knowledge to know what Max was going to say before it was said. Or maybe it was just knowing Max. "I didn't dodge well enough. Asked clefairy to not use it once, and, well… It didn't hurt!"

Okay, most of what Max was going to say. The older teenager pinched the bridge of his nose. Admittedly, the perseverance was impressive, and probably ferroseed had been more focused on trying to make it work than to do it at full strength, but still. "Don't do it again, okay?" he ended up saying, hoping he could pull off admonishing someone only a month younger. "And what's your plan?"

"Does Healing Wish work on humans?"

Danny blinked at the question. "It… It should?" he ventured carefully. "Don't know a reason why not. You never found out with clefairy?"

"It's not like it's used that often," Max said, shrugging. "Three times, I think? Roxanne, Geosenge, and that time I forgot that we needed xatu to get back. But I was thinking… What if clefairy didn't put everything into it? What happens then?"

"It's probably already been tested," Danny observed drily, fishing for his Pokédex and finding he didn't have it on him. "Er, your Pokédex."

Max looked a bit ashamed that he had forgotten about that, but the encyclopedia did hold the answers. Healing Wish did work on humans, except not as effectively as on Pokémon, and it was possible to not put everything into the healing energy, but it was also a move that became more efficient as more energy was put into it, so two smaller Healing Wishes would result in less net benefit than a singular big Healing Wish.

Even with those downsides, clefairy was still able to clean the wound up to the point it looked several days old instead of under an hour old. "So, how did you get ferroseed to do that trick? In under an hour?" Which was pretty impressive, all things considered.

The Steel-type had moved when hearing his name, going into a soft roll and settling against Danny's leg carefully, getting a rub on the metallic shell with Danny's free hand as a reward.

Max nibbled on his curry bread first. "I started with making him spin and then using Pin Missile. He had some problems with that, mostly to stay upright for long, but then he started throwing in Gyro Ball himself for stability." The blue-haired teenager shrugged. "It's not as powerful as a normal Pin Missile yet, but I think we can work on that easily. Spent most of the time thinking up a new Gravity use after that."

"Oh?"

"Think of Gravity as an invisible cube, okay?" Max started, and Danny easily envisioned that. "Now take out a small area in the middle. You can have gravity be normal there, but not elsewhere. It could be a defensive tool in Doubles or something. Clefairy is pretty certain she can get it working with a bit of practice."

"Ry!" the Fairy-type added emphatically, but then the sound of something exploding came from behind all of them, where the last two Pokémon in their roster were training. "Fa-fa."

"Yeah, they're loud. Can you go tell them it's nearly lunch time?" Max asked, and the pink Pokémon rose, jumping away. Both of them took a bite out of their lunch, reaching the curry inside – deliciously spicy in Danny's opinion. "Gardevoir and Echoed Voice are getting on like a house on fire. He's got power and concentration to spare. Spritzee's even been using Sweet Kiss on him, but that didn't seem to faze him too much."

"As if he needed more powerful attacks," Danny said, snorting. "Shoring up that Dark-type weakness of hi seems about done then."

"Not without Dazzling Gleam or Moonblast, and we know he's pretty bad at the Fairy side of things. It's a good start, though."

 **~~§~~§~~**

"Haven't heard from Hugo in a while," Danny told Max, glancing at the letter propped up against the pitcher of orange juice at their breakfast table in the first Pokémon Center north of Enion. They had gotten in late the night before, and a regular call to Professor Oak's laboratory had revealed that there'd been a letter dropped off the day before. "Wasn't the last one when we were still travelling with Evan?"

Max thought for a moment. "Sounds right. He did say he was going to take it slow and just stick around one spot for a few weeks." Which had been spurred on by barely sneaking in a badge and having tons of time to get three more badges for a League in December. "Maybe capture a new Pokémon too."

"Do you think he's got a gardevoir by now?"

A shake of Max's head – now thankfully without getting too much hair in front of his glasses – was the answer. "Probably not. It's possible," he allowed, "but the average trained Kirlia spends just under a year as one before evolving." And Hugo's kirlia had evolved not too long before the Kalos League; about three weeks or so. "It'd be good for him if she did."

"Ralts was already fast on evolving, right?"

Max shrugged, then drained his glass. "She wasn't exactly a newborn. Bonding like they did helped, though." He ignored the slight pang by thinking of the bond he had made instead. "Want to read along?"

"Just give me the letter after you're done," Danny said, motioning towards his breakfast. "Gives me time to finish this off."

Not that Max was finished with his breakfast, but he could wait a bit. He slid a finger under the envelope's flap; opening it without any issue.

As per almost usual, there were two colours in the letter, Max saw as he unfolded the paper.

 _Hey Max!_

 _It's been a few busy weeks! I was really lucky to stay where I was, because there was this big weekend tournament happening. I trained a lot for that, and I won three times before losing. Kirlia did a lot of work, but talonflame evolved! And he learned Brave Bird too. Even the zebstrika didn't like that._

 _I still got a prize because I was second in my age group. There was one girl that got a round further, but she was nearly fourteen and I was just thirteen and three months. So I think I did pretty okay._

Max couldn't resist a grin. Hugo's writing was still as infectious as ever, and he could almost hear the boy say those words, down to the tone of voice.

 _I got a choice of an evolution stone for that, and you can probably guess which one I took already. Roselia isn't ready yet, she told me, but when she is, I've got what she needs to become a roserade. I think the fact that I asked really surprised her too. Don't get why because I try to talk to my Pokémon a lot, like you taught me._

 _No new Pokémon. There aren't a lot of good ones around in a city. I did miss catching a trubbish after it let out this big fart. I could barely breathe, that's how bad it was. Kirlia wasn't much better, and it's not like you can just turn your nose off. Maybe I'll have more luck travelling: I'm leaving tomorrow!_

The penmanship changed at this point; from blue ink to green ink, and also to a much shakier hand; Max could tell that even without reading the words themselves. Intrigued, his eyes slid downwards.

 _I'm back in Aelius. And will be for a while. It's two days after what I wrote earlier, but it feels like a week at least. I just got back from the hospital after an attack from a wild tyranitar._

"Max?" Danny interrupted the reading, sounding worried. "What is it?"

He was certain he hadn't gasped, but Danny was good at reading expressions, so that was probably it. "Hugo got on the wrong end of a wild rampaging tyranitar," he said, and Danny's spoon fell, clattering on the floor. "It's the second part of the letter. He says it's only been two days, so maybe it's not too serious."

Danny gave him a look that he didn't believe that one bit; not that Max did himself. A chair scraped across the tiles, and Max tilted the letter to let his friend read along.

 _There are mountains east of here that I was hiking through. Then I heard a bunch of Pokémon cry out. I went towards the sound and found a group of Psychic Pokémon being attacked by that tyranitar. I think they were the younger ones. There were bodies off to the side, and it was really angry, but not really focused on the Pokémon._

 _Kirlia wanted to get them out. She called for the Pokémon somehow. And they nearly made it, too, but then the tyranitar noticed us, and it used Hyper Beam._

 _All the Psychic Pokémon tried to stop it. And they nearly did. But they didn't, and we all went flying. I broke my left wrist and right pinky. I think one of the young Pokémon died. I don't even know. It's kinda blurry._

 _But I remember kirlia evolving into gardevoir and attacking the tyranitar with Dazzling Gleam. And she somehow won. I still don't know how, but she did. And then she helped me call, and well, I'm here now. With a gardevoir and broken bones. And three new Psychic-types._

 _A drowzee, a solosis, and an inkay all really wanted to stay with me. Caused a bit of an issue in the hospital, they told me. But they're my new Pokémon now. I couldn't say no to them. Not after what the tyranitar did._

There was a lot of scribbled-out text on the rest of the page, as if Hugo had been trying to put something into words but felt he didn't do it right. In the end, it seemed the Kalosian teenager had gone with just ending the letter there, fitting a small _Hugo_ in the bottom right corner.

"Arceus..." Danny swore softly as he finished the letter. "He's lucky to be alive. And he knows it too, I think." He grabbed the envelope. "Posted four days ago." He put a hand on Max's shoulder. "You need to talk to him. Tonight."

Truth be told, Max had already been calculating the time difference between Johto and Prudan. It was late there now, though. "Not you too?"

"No," was the resolute statement, followed by Danny looking around and leaning in. "You've seen much more. He needs your perspective. Just like Evan needed Serena's. I know I'm not the right person for this," he added.

'But I want to help,' was easily heard in Danny's tone. And in general, he had been really stupidly good at keeping Max from being too preoccupied with things recently. It was worth a shot, and if Hugo wanted Danny to be there… That could be fixed anyway. "You still want to travel today? After..."

"I don't think I want to train today or just sit around here and think about everything."

Put like that, travelling was the only real option.

The sun had long set when gardevoir delivered Max back to the Center, surprising the Nurse Joy on duty. "I thought my sister said you left?" She glanced to the equally tall – give or take – Pokémon by his side. "Easy to see how you returned, though."

"Got a call to make," Max told her as he took his wallet from his pocket, as well as a pair of Danny's pokéballs. He put them down alongside three of his own. "International. Might be a while, too."

The nurse's eyebrows went even higher, even as she put the five capsules on a tray. "Don't get a lot of those. Why?"

No real sense in keeping it secret. "Someone I know saved a few Pokémon from a wild tyranitar and got injured himself."

Nurse Joy winced, as did the blissey by her side. "Hope your friend didn't get injured too badly."

"Broken wrist and pinky. On different hands," Max added, and he thought of a question. "How long's that going to keep him in one place?"

"Depends on the break. If it's a clean wrist fracture, and if he's got Pokémon that can help him, he'll probably be allowed to leave in a week if he's capable of showing he can make it to a Center before nightfall," Nurse Joy explained, seeming to be in her element. "The pinky… That's a complicating factor because now both of your friend's hands aren't fully okay."

That was a bit understandable. Having both your hands injured meant you couldn't even compensate. "Thank you."

"No problem. Just come find me when you're done. Assuming these Pokémon aren't too injured?"

"Just regular fatigue," Max answered, and Nurse Joy lifted the tray, heading back to where she made her magic happen.

He went to one of the videophones, dialling the specific number that he had found online earlier that day. It wasn't long before another Nurse Joy – paler, but otherwise completely the same – accepted the call. "Aelius Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy speaking," she said, voice accented in a strange way. Something with the vowels? "Oh, hello. D'ya want to talk to Hugo?"

What? How had she figured that out? "Er… Yes?"

"I posted the letters he sent and I know my country codes," she explained. "I'll go find him."

It was a very surprised – and much changed – Hugo that sat down in the chair a few minutes later. The red hair was very short now, and it made him look a lot older. Almost Max's age. A grin would've taken a year off, but he didn't manage that. Instead, he donned a wan smile, and said a soft "Hey Max," in a voice that was definitely deeper than it had been. "Boy, wasn't expecting you."

Gardevoir slid Max off to the side a bit, sitting down also in view of the camera. "After that letter you sent, can't not. How bad is the wrist?"

The Kalosian teenager held it up while fiddling with his belt. His own gardevoir was released a moment later, and Max's Psychic-type didn't quite hold back a wave of surprise. "Simple break on both bones. Didn't hurt as much as I thought, but still using some painkillers at night." Hugo went through the same as Max had moments earlier. "Going to get a new cast tomorrow. One that's less big."

This cast looked like it made Hugo's arm nearly twice as large as it was. "Swelling is going down then? That's good."

"Nurse Joy said the same," Hugo admitted. "I get to choose a colour for the other cast. Guess which one."

"Gardevoir green," Max answered instantly, because he knew Hugo well enough for that. It still surprised Hugo's Pokémon, judging by the look she sent him. "You feeling okay being one, by the way, gardevoir?"

He knew she was before she uttered anything, and her arm on Hugo's shoulder said enough that there was no other possible interpretation. "She's been great. Helping me with a lot of things. Even stuff like making my bed."

A sensation of fleeting embarrassment reminded Max of one incident not too long after he'd won the Zephyr Badge. "Mine was pretty terrible at that. Let him do it once, didn't try again."

"Why was he making your bed?"

"Gardevoir had problems with control. He's really powerful," Max said matter-of-factly, "but he was just doing everything at full strength. Like a radio that's stuck on way too loud. So when he tried to make the bed, the mattress flew off." The Psychic-type had caught it before it had slammed into something else, so at least Nurse Joy hadn't been angry with them. "There's upsides and downsides to everything. He's still pretty wasteful."

"How do you know he's really powerful? Because she, well..."

"When gardevoir defend those they love, they're capable of doing a _lot_ ," Max answered. A pang of unease shot through him as he remembered a time it hadn't been enough, and instantly, his hand had a gardevoir's arm in it. "Some of the Pokédex entries say they start warping reality. But mine? Well… He held off a dragonite coming in at full speed for about forty seconds. After already stopping a firestorm and returning it."

"Returning it? Like Psychic?"

Max shook his head. "Bit different. First he captures it between two layers of barriers while only _redirecting_ the attack instead of blocking it, closing the hole in the barriers once the attack stops, and then opening it back up in the direction he wants." He waited for a bit for Hugo to get it, and got a careful nod. "It's still pretty hard to use, but easier now. Definitely not something you can do when just evolved."

The gardevoir in Prudan shifted uncomfortably, maybe at being caught out, but the fact was that Max had seen her look wistfully at the description. "It's not your fault," Hugo said consolingly, putting his right hand on her shoulder. "You did everything you could. More than I did. I just sat there," he added, the last words dark.

"Nearly everyone would have frozen in that situation," Max cut across before there could be more self-loathing. He felt a sound barrier go up. "And I know you want to reply with something about yveltal, but I was _scared,_ Hugo. I saw its cocoon, from a distance, behind glass, and it terrified me. And I went on because I had to try and stop Lysandre. And then the second time, it took Mega manectric to bring me back. And I have seen a _lot_ more than just yveltal." Though that was hands down the worst, he felt.

"Yeah, as..."

"I _promise,_ " Max intoned, cutting across once again, interrupting Hugo's disbelieving words that would've never come out of his mouth before all of this. The mention of promises shut him up, as Max knew it would. "I have met over a dozen Legendaries. Look up groudon and kyogre in Hoenn, nearly four years ago. I was there. The destruction in Forina at the time of the Millennium Comet. _I was there._ Without Pokémon, with only my friends and May to protect me. I know what it is like to feel helpless; to be helpless. It's the second worst feeling I've felt in all my life, and I don't ever want to be like that ever again. I don't want anyone to be helpless like that. At all."

Hugo made to say something, but gardevoir stopped him. "De-voir?" she asked, inflecting it in a very strange way.

But it was a way that Max understood. Maybe it was that sensitivity thing, maybe it was just years of being around Pokémon, but she was asking why it was the second worst feeling. "Because the first is ralts – his younger brother – dying in my arms. Two years ago last week."

That caused both Hugo and his gardevoir to blanch and shiver, and a shared look between them told of synchronised thoughts. "Wow. Er… Wow," the teenager said, stumbling over his words, and Max didn't comment on it, instead giving space. "Kinda makes what happened to me look stupid."

In that moment, Max knew that Hugo's gardevoir had a lot more control over her emotions than Max's, but the look she gave across the screen despaired of the Kalosian teenager not getting the point. Max shrugged minutely in return; going down that path was probably not going to lead anywhere good for now. There were other calls for that. "A rampaging tyranitar is pretty high on the list, but you said something in your letter… You caught three new Pokémon?"

If Hugo noticed it was a blatant change of topic, he didn't show it, instead breaking into the first genuine, albeit lesser than before, smile Max had seen him use all call. "Yeah! Inkay's a really weird Pokémon, but funny. Topsy-Turvy seems really useful. Solosis is a bit shy, and drowzee has been really useful already."

Useful? While there was a gardevoir always on the team and Hugo was stuck in the Pokémon Center and around it because of the injury? "How has it? He? She? Been useful?"

"He. And he knows Hypnosis, and, well, this is really annoying at night even through the painkillers," the redhead said, holding his left arm up. "So drowzee makes me drowsy enough to sleep."

There was a moment of stunned silence as everyone filtered those words. Then, Hugo started to chuckle, and Max followed softly, feeling the barrier fall at the same time.

If that kind of pun could come out on accident, everything was probably going to be okay in the end.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Max had left for his call with Hugo, leaving Danny alone in their makeshift camp, about a halfway from Enion to Mount Silver, which would loom in the distance if he felt like climbing the dense trees that they had made their camp under. There were no thunderstorms predicted, and even if there were, manectric and magneton were always eager enough to deal with deflecting lightning strikes.

Pokémon made travelling a lot easier in ways Danny had never even thought of before and considered completely natural now.

Knowing Max and knowing the topic at hand, it was probably going to be a while before the entire group was going to be here again, and so Danny was left with just litwick for company. He could send out more Pokémon, but a bit of peace and quiet felt like a good thing after everything that had happened that day.

There had been discussion about the tyranitar on the road, in between endless Trainer battles. The Silver Conference location was only fifteen miles north of the Center they'd left from. That was within one day's walk for them these days, but thirteen Trainers, nine solo and two pairs, had made travel slow and had also made sure that swampert and exploud both needed a bit of care that Nurse Joy was best able to provide.

Sure, they would've been fine by morning, and completely healthy by this time tomorrow, but since Max was already going, it was wasteful to not use the time. More time to train for the Silver Conference, or more Pokémon he could use if tomorrow was as bad as today.

Speaking of today. "You're getting better at using Trick Room, litwick. That furret didn't know what to do with it at all."

The Ghost-type chattered happily at the compliment, carefully leaning against Danny's hand. The flame was a bit warmer, but he had been very diligent in keeping it away from anyone else out of battle. He did try, on occasion, to entrance them with it, but by now, everyone who'd been around litwick for a while was resistant to that if he didn't use it at full strength.

At which point it became a lot harder, but still not impossible. "Guess we'll have to start teaching you Shadow Ball now. Can't just rely on burning people and making them hit themselves."

Litwick formed a bit of Ghost-type energy, but it fizzled out after a moment, visible in the light of the fire he had helped start. "Wiiiiick."

"Don't worry. It'll be fine. I'll get dusclops to help. She's taught half our teams," Danny said, smiling down at the small Ghost-type. "And then you'll be—"

A mighty roar from nearby drowned out the rest of Danny's comment, and aggron, spritzee, and klefki all appeared in blinding flashes, and even litwick shot away from him to take up defensive posture.

His heart beat hard in his chest, and Danny was extremely aware of both the fact that he was alone and that he was missing Pokémon. Peering into the darkness around the shadows aggron cast was hard, but even so, he saw nothing in the direction the roar had come from. Not even the leaves on the trees moved, as if time had stopped.

Then, with a dismissive and resonant snort, a Pokémon leapt into view from over a fallen tree and a drop-off. It landed with a thud, not strong enough to shake the earth, but noticeable nevertheless. A ball of flame went up into the air, casting unnaturally bright light into the evening and fully illuminating the Pokémon standing before them: an instantly-recognisable leonine shape that filled Danny with fear and awe alike.

Entei. The Legendary Beast of Fire.

A deafening roar slammed into Danny and his Pokémon, staggering him, only aggron's arm stopping a full-on drop to his knees. Red light suffused the area; spritzee, litwick, klefki all forced to return themselves.

Aggron shifted, itching to Mega Evolve, and the Key Stone on Danny's chest had never been more noticeable, but with a tremendous wrench of his thoughts, the Trainer shifted his thoughts away. He drew himself up, regarding the intimidating Pokémon in full.

He beheld, and felt, power and destruction. The force of a thousand erupting volcanoes echoed within Danny, beautiful and indiscriminate, terrifying and yet life-giving. Harnessing it in full would be folly, for fire burnt those who failed to respect it, yet touching the source was intoxicating and glorious, addictive and radiant. It was his, yet it wasn't.

Danny came to on his knees, uncertain of when he had fallen down, but instantly raising his head towards the Beast of Fire. Red eyes pierced his soul, stripping him down to the barest of being.

And then entei broke the connection with a deliberate turn of its head. His head? It didn't matter. The ball that had been summoned dropped lower, hovering in place equidistant between the two of them, and a snort sent it moving at a snail's pace, towards Danny.

Aggron stirred, but Danny stopped him with a single word. "No," he spoke as he rose, slowly ambling towards the flame himself. With every step, though, he felt stronger, more powerful, _alive,_ until at last the fire was within arm's reach, where it and he stopped. It was too hot, uncomfortable, but it was the right place to be.

Darkness overtook his vision as entei snuffed the globe like an adult might snuff a candle's light. It took several seconds before Danny could see the clearing, but one thing was immediately apparent. The Legendary had vanished.

As he realised that, a roar echoed on the trees, carrying an emotion.

Respect. Of Danny towards entei, and the Pokémon towards the human. Where what started and ended, he knew not.

And then the spell was broken in full, and Danny's knees gave out. The Pokémon that had been returned burst out, crying and tittering and chattering and wondering if he was okay, and no grumbles from aggron could dissuade them.

How could anyone who hadn't been there understand?

Was this what it had been like for Max? Faced with power beyond understanding, might beyond measure? Had he felt as terrified and humbled in the face of xerneas and yveltal, groudon and kyogre, rayquaza, deoxys? Even the Legendary Golems? Or was this different beyond vague similarities?

He had no answers to any of those questions. But perhaps Max could be coaxed.

 **~~§~~§~~**

The test concluded, and with it, silence descended upon the range that they had used. Mostly: two of the three dummies that had been there at the start did have a fifteen foot drop to overcome at the end of it, but the subject had stopped as ordered the instant the whistle had gone. "It appears there are no more inhibitions. Obedience is also instantaneous and complete."

"Too bad it required her to submit under duress first," his colleague lamented with a sigh. "That will curtail its effectiveness."

A shrug. "We are limited by production of the devices already. They are devilishly hard to manufacture, I am told. It didn't help we blew up five of them on unwilling subjects either." It had set them back the better part of two months, but luckily, the higher-ups had been extremely understanding. There was progress, and there was faith in his team's ability to make everything work out. "The only weakness remaining is the need for a control unit nearby. That will hinder any insertion operations."

"Should we try to iterate?"

"Improvement is always important," a third voice arrived, one neither of them had even heard coming. The source was unmistakable though, and they inclined their heads in deference as the man walked up. "However, for a first successful foray, this is extremely fortuitously timed. The skills this subject has are going to be crucial."

There was only one skill that their superior could be talking about. "We estimate that she is able to transport three average weight humans at least ninety miles at a time. Possibly more, but we didn't test extensively. This is a good guess of a lower boundary that will also allow a return."

"And it is able to do so off of impersonal data, like pictures and coordinates?"

"Yes,' his colleague spoke up, having been more involved with that testing. "It puts more strain on the subject, but within acceptable parameters. The journey itself also felt rougher, though that could be my imagination."

"Excellent. My thanks for your thoroughness and your perseverance despite other parties being particularly peeved about the initial lack of results." The aristocrat chuckled at the surprised look that the scientist – scientists? - gave him. "Oh, you had not heard. Some wondered why there was no return, and they floated the idea of cutting this off and using the subject for regular, albeit outsized, disruption. A waste, in my opinion, and it seems this was a valid assessment. You have greatly simplified several salient issues with this." The man regarded the gardevoir. "The usual caveats apply, I shall assume."

"Pokéballs and the device don't mix." They had found that out on the second iteration. "The material is an alloy with a steel base, trading some durability for less weight, with the relevant technology inside the shell. Direct hits with rocks or Ace-level Pokémon punches are to be discouraged, but it will sustain through most anything that isn't specifically aimed at it."

"Hence the choice for an upper arm band, being out of the centre of mass."

"The relative vulnerability is a limitation slightly lamented, but trade-offs are a necessity in engineering and design. It is your recommendation then that Pokémon that seek to fight at range are best suited for these?"

He nodded. "With the exception of Ghost-types and their intangibility, yes. But for more powerful Pokémon, as mentioned, it needs to be willing. Whether that's truly willing or coerced… That matters not."

The choice of watching a juvenile of her kind be tortured or to don the armband had done this subject in. Rather fast, oddly, but they were sentimental Pokémon.

He was not going to look a gift ponyta in the mouth, that much was certain.

 **~~§~~§~~**

There was a rugged beauty to the northern end of Route 210, and waking up from a gentle morning sun shining down on them, most of the way up one of the many foothills in the area? The view was spectacular, and he quickly got out a camera to take a few pictures, just so that Jane could have inspiration for nature drawings down the line.

After that was done and he'd gotten dressed, he also found his girlfriend slowly waking up. "Morning to you too," Keith said as he pulled some of the easy food out of his pack and finding that there wasn't a lot left. "We're going to need to go to town today."

"D'we have to?" Jane complained, still half asleep, not doing much about her messy hair. It looked cute. "Beautiful here."

Keith sat down next to her, providing his girlfriend with a shoulder to lean into, which she gladly did. He also put his arm around her, and she responded by snuggling up even more, making Keith's heart jump. He loved this, and he loved her. "Well, we're running sort of low on food."

"Hm, food," Jane muttered, and even her quilladin looked up, bleary-eyed from the watch, at the mention of something wanted. "Gimme."

The grab was half-hearted, but even so, pretty accurate, and Keith barely got her wrist in his in time. "Not in the sleeping bag. You always end up regretting tha-aaaat!"

Jane, undeterred, tried for a sneaky tickle ambush to get by Keith, but she was weak from sleep, and he could keep it together just long enough to lock her in a tight hug, making sure her arms were nowhere near his sides. "Lemme go," she said into his chest, muffled a bit.

"If you promise to get ready for the day first," Keith said, resisting the urge to rest his head on hers – that was something she didn't like except when she was in the mood. "Okay?"

"'kay, fine."

Keith let her go, rising and making to leave so his girlfriend could change in peace. He took most of the food, leaving one energy bar behind, and walked over to the cliff's edge, about twenty feet away. He also released his eevee, who yawned as well as he was released, but let out an appreciative "Vui..." as he took note of the sights.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Keith asked his Normal-type. He'd found her abandoned near Lumiose, close to the Kalos League, and it had taken a long time for the small Pokémon to get used to first having a Trainer and then battling. He was the only Pokémon Keith had that had never participated in any Gym Battle yet, though he had some nasty tricks up his fur. "Do you want to be in my arms so you can see better?"

Eevee needed no excuses for that, but he waited for Keith to put the rest of the food down before jumping up into Keith's arms. The fur tickled a bit, but it was soothing as well as the morning sun shone on him.

The Evolution Pokémon shuddered in his arms, causing Keith to look down and see eevee visibly suppressing something. A flash of white, and then… Nothing. Was that… "Eevee? Did you just..."

"Vui," was the satisfied answer. "Ee?" he added as Keith sat down and shifted him around so they faced each other.

"Do you want to see if we can find an Everstone for you?" Keith asked, looking straight into the big brown eyes. "So you can't evolve at all, I mean." Eevee shook his head. "Is it just espeon, then?"

That got him a happy nod and a quick flick of the tail over his arms. "Vui!" the Pokémon added, pawing at Keith's arms, being let go and patting the right jeans pocket. "Ee?"

It was where both he and Jane usually kept their Pokédexes, and Keith fished it out of the other pocket, where he had put it because his right hand had been full of food earlier. "Okay, so I'm guessing you want to see your other evolutions?" he said as he put the device on the ground after locating eevee in the entries.

Eevee went one further, pressing the button that would get him to the next evolution by himself. Keith had no idea how he had picked up that trick, but he saw and heard his Pokémon react disapprovingly of both vaporeon and jolteon before hovering over flareon. "Ee…?"

"Maybe?" Keith said, guessing at the translation and getting it right, judging by his eevee's reaction. "Okay. So, you didn't want espeon, so..." he said, tapping twice. "What about umbreon?"

The reaction to umbreon was very negative, but leafeon up next wasn't. Eevee pressed the button that would give a short definition of the Pokémon before Keith could stop him and the mechanical tones of the 'dex echoed on the hills.

 _Leafeon, the Verdant Pokémon. It uses photosynthesis to produce clean air in an area around itself._

That description, for some reason, made eevee really happy, and she yipped and yapped and would've probably jumped around if they hadn't been fairly close to a cliff. Not that Keith was ever going to let him fall. "I think that's a winner, then?"

"There is a Moss Rock in the Eterna Forest," Jane said from a bit behind them, and Keith turned around to see her walk up, still fiddling with her hair to put it in a tail. It was just easier for travelling. "Maybe the Gym Leader knows where it is." She sat down next to Keith, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Why are you talking about this?"

"Eevee didn't want to evolve into espeon," Keith said, and eevee agreed as he jumped back into Keith's lap, curling up in the morning sunlight. "Suppressed it in my arms."

"Guess there's two of us here who really love you, then," Jane said, a twinkle in her eyes. Keith was expecting another kiss – usually there was one after one of those comments, but none came. "But I'm out of kisses. I need food to refill."

And then sometimes she was like that. "Energy bars equal kisses? Should I buy a gross?"

"Limited time offer," Jane retorted. "But I could be convinced to make it permanent."

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

Name: Max Maple

Age: 14

Region: Hoenn

Trainer Class: Expert/Ace

Style: Strength, Speedster

Odds: 21-1

Notes: Buoyed by the ability to use Mega Evolution as the youngest on record, Maple brings a brutal mix of strength and speed to most battles, with acumen belying his age. There may be depth issues for his team beyond the best eight or so, but several of those will force any opponent into a tight spot if given the chance, and Maple is quite capable of identifying the right conditions or forcing them. He may be too young to win a full tournament, but upsets are definitely within his reach, even against high Ace-tier Trainers.

Pokémon to watch: Sceptile, manectric (Mega), shelgon.

From: _Pokébet's_ profile of Max Maple, retrieved prior to the start of the Silver Conference

* * *

 **Author's Note:** First of two chapters while we await the beginning of the Silver Conference, with a bit from what feels like half the cast. Expect a bit more of the same next chapter.


	23. Preparing For Battle

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 22:** **Preparing For Battle**

For all that the Silver Conference hyped up its connection to Mount Silver, the mountain itself wasn't _that_ close, Max mused as he stood on a tree branch, about fifty feet above ground. Silver Town, where the competition had taken place for close to a century, was similar to Ever Grande in that it was normally a quiet place with few permanent inhabitants that weren't in some way related to the Johto League. Then, every eight months, the small village in the valley grew by at least two thousand people as Trainers, people they travelled with, media, support staff, and whatnot came in.

With about two weeks before the Conference would start, this was clear even from a distance, as there were more than a few trucks unloading here and there, clearly visible through the binoculars that bridged the three quarter mile distance. People bustled about, but it was clear the main rush of Trainers had yet to come.

Then he scanned the surroundings, and found what he was looking for pretty fast. A patch of forest, maybe three or four acres total, blackened and a stark contrast to the rest of the area. They wouldn't encounter it moving straight towards the town, but it was probably on or close to the path that led to the Indigo Plateau, thirty or so miles east.

Max snapped his fingers, and meowstic gently lowered him to the ground; her powers enveloping him tightly, but loosening the closer he got to the ground. "Not too big an area. Looked like it was kind of stopped before it could grow too much."

Danny nodded. "It's too close to Silver Town and there are Trainers moving through," he said, taking the binoculars back. "Let's hope none of them were caught in there."

"We would've heard that on the radio," Max pointed out as they resumed their walk. Both of them were pretty tired, having been woken up in the dead of night from a thunderstorm that had started a fire that had cast a slight orange glow to the night sky. They hadn't been able to check earlier due to camping in a lower-lying area and not wanting to climb a tree while the skies were still roiling with static charge, but now that the fire was a long time past and there were just regular clouds above… Max had suggested to check everything out. "Silver Town looked pretty empty."

"Of course it is," Danny replied, and Max could hear the smile. "No Elite Four because they're at the Indigo Plateau, no Contests around here either because we know Enion advertises as the last Johto town to have one…Probably a ghost town between seasons."

"There's the reserve," Max said, waving his hand vaguely in a south-easterly direction. "But yeah, not worth it to set up shop permanently. Also not a lot of roads around here for trucks and stuff. Think all of them have to come through the Plateau."

"Would be pretty cool living here. Pretty empty bit of Johto,."

Max snorted at Danny's declaration. "You'd hate it. No cinema _or_ barber nearby."

"I can always get a big Flying-type or call dibs on one of gardevoir or xatu's babies. Probably gardevoir's, with Hugo's gardevoir." Danny's sigh was completely put-on. "Too bad yours is male."

"What makes you think a ralts would want you as a Trainer?" Max shot back, gleefully, and the mirth increased when he saw Danny wince exaggeratedly. "You're also pretty lucky he's out like a light after staying up all night."

Danny shrugged. "Maybe. But with you around, I can ask any sort of question and get a more detailed answer than all the university books on Psychic-types, so… I think I'd be able to convince the ralts."

"I'm not that smart."

"And Eggs need time, time that you'll use to pick up stuff. Because that's what you do."

Max had no response to that statement, and there was a definite smugness in Danny's step as they continued on. It did set his mind to think, and as Silver Town became visible in the distance after turning a downhill corner, he voiced it. "How'd you deal with Eggs on your Pokémon?"

"Dunno," Danny admitted after a small pause. "I know what Uncle does, but… There's got to be a better goal for them, even if there's not enough time to hatch them myself."

"What does he do then?"

"Any Eggs he can't identify to any one or two Trai-whooaa," Danny said, nearly falling over a tree root, and Max instinctively grabbed onto the back of Danny's pack to keep him upright. It didn't work, because Danny was like one and a half times his weight, but the two remained on their feet with a little help of meowstic. "Thanks. Need to watch where I'm going before I break an arm."

"Would that stop you from participating?"

"Nah. Be an odd sight though." Danny let out a chuckle, and it infected Max. "Anyway, uncle sends them to a network of breeders and stuff, if they're not too rare. Same if the Trainers don't want them, but he told me that's really rare."

Max digested that. "How often does that happen? And does he have times where both Trainers want it?"

"More than you'd think. Probably about an Egg a week on average, and he told me that he gets about quadruple that in total." A loud honk interrupted him for a bit. "And if both want it he tells them to figure it out before he gives them the Egg. Simplest solution."

That was pretty true.

The Pokémon Center was pretty easy to find as the largest non-stadium building in the area, but for all its size, it, too, was empty when they entered, except for the ever-present Nurse Joy. "Hello there," she greeted the duo jovially, sliding some magazine off to the side as they walked up. "Here for registration?"

"And one night here," Max told her as he produced the pokéballs of all the Pokémon that could do with a rest. "One night in a bed after last night sounds like heaven."

"A warm shower is what I want," Danny said, but Max could tell he agreed. "Is that okay?"

"Of course," Nurse Joy told them, putting the capsules on a tray and sliding it into some sort of machine. Silhouettes of the Pokémon inside popped up on a screen nearby. "The fire kept you up? These are the Pokémon you used to be safe?"

Max nodded. "Yeah. We were a mile or two out, but the thunder was loud last night. Manectric sure liked it, but it wasn't good for sleeping."

"I can imagine. That's a good mix of Pokémon for these situations, by the way," the nurse complimented them as a blissey waddled into the room from out back. "Manectric for the lightning, swampert and gardevoir for making a path, aggron for carrying things, and does the gardevoir know Teleport?" she asked, getting a pair of nods. "Guess that's why you're only staying one night, then." She walked over to another computer. "Can I get Trainer identification and your badges?"

They were prepared for the question – it was the third time – and they were duly handed over. "When does the Conference start? I think there were preliminaries or something a few years back?" Max asked.

"Those are still in August. Not that I think you'll need to take part in them," Nurse Joy replied, tapping away. "Preliminaries are sorted according to how many Leagues you've been in, and, well, this is your third. In two and a half years," she added, impressed. "It's possible, but not very probable."

"How do you decide that anyway? If you know," Danny asked as he took both badge case and Pokédex back. "Just random luck?"

"If we don't need all the first-timers, then yes for them," the redhead confirmed. "If we need to move up, it's based on results in previous Leagues. Not that you're going to have trouble with that," she added with a teasing smile. "I'd expect some reporter to track you down once the list of participants is up."

Danny groaned. "Not them again," he whined. "We already did tons of that in Kalos."

"It's not going to be as bad here," Max said, even if he wasn't certain himself. "We didn't get an award recently." It still wasn't going to stop the reporters from coming, but there might be fewer of them.

"I know most of them," Nurse Joy interjected, "and they'll prefer to ask you if you have time first instead of pestering you. You can probably stop the worst of it if you sit down for an interview with one of them."

That sounded like a good plan to Max. Fewer distractions during the tournament and so on. "I'm okay with that. What about you?"

"Probably?" Danny replied before shuddering. "Sorry. I really want that shower. And maybe some food after."

"Understandable." Nurse Joy looked over to the side, humming in thought. "If you can return on the 27th, I can probably make sure you get the same room now and then. So you could have one wherever you want, basically."

The teenagers looked at each other once, Max uncaring and Danny seemingly not really having an opinion either. "Think we can do that," Max answered. "Any floor?"

"There are rooms with two beds on all floors, yes. They're all on the west side." A hand pointed down their left side. "The top floor rooms are usually the first to go." The nurse took a key, placing it down on the counter and sliding it over. "Use this one for now. If you want a different one, just tell me tomorrow, okay? I've got morning shift all week."

 **~~§~~§~~**

Deerling rushed forward, coat still vaguely glowing green with the residue of the Sap Sipper boost he had gotten from intercepting the Leech Seed that had been meant for swinub, but ferroseed replied by starting to spin, going into a Gyro Ball. "Switch!"

An Energy Ball was duly prepared and launched, but the other target in the form of spritzee wasn't anywhere near the attack. Gardevoir snuffed it out as Danny's Fairy-type fluttered towards deerling, diving slightly to gain speed, and succeeding in landing a Sweet Kiss on the green-coated Pokémon's flank. It wasn't as effective as it would normally be, but it was enough to cause deerling to stop for a moment – a moment long enough for Pin Missiles to crash into him.

"Those two work together well," Max remarked as deerling went to his knees and the other Pokémon backed off, swinub included. "Evil strategy, though. Just grind them down."

"Won't stand up against Pokémon that are better from range, though," Danny countered, and Max heard the whoosh of a Pokémon being returned. It was ferroseed. "Energy Ball is the only thing that you really have and ferroseed can deal with those all day. Shadow Ball isn't good enough yet under stress. Maybe try again later with poliwhirl?"

Max gave a nod before walking up to the struggling Grass-type, a water bottle filled with a Persim-based drink in hand. "Just drink this," he said as he knelt down, putting his left hand on deerling's neck and squeezing to tell the Pokémon it was him.

The confusion in deerling's eyes vanished, and Max let him go as he wanted to see if he could trust all four of his legs again. Pretty normal, as was the thankful cry of "Ling!" to the others.

Deerling respected strength and training a lot, they had learnt, and the small Pokémon – not standing a lot higher than Max's thighs, if that – was always willing to accept it when he had been defeated. That made him a pleasure to train for sure, and the only real thing they were focused on now was balancing power and speed in forming Shadow Ball.

"Nub?" Max's small Ice-type said from the side, drawing everyone's attention. "Swiiiii."

"Don't worry,' Max said as he quickly headed over. "You'll get better matches soon enough. I know you're not great at this range, but we wanted to test Danny's Pokémon. That's why I told you to not use Dig."

The Ice-type's eyes moved a bit, seemingly surprised, and Max wondered for a moment why – the brown Pokémon had been understanding of that earlier.

Then a white glow appeared, bursting through the fur gently, but insistently regardless, and Max stifled a surprised cry of his own before hurriedly moving away. Swinub had been nearly at his feet, and piloswine were a lot bigger and heavier.

As it turned out, big enough to come up to Max's stomach or so, except the nose was still close to the ground. The brown fur was a lot more plentiful now, now actively covering the eyes instead of swinub just keeping its eyes closed all the time. Basically. A quick rub with his hand also revealed the fur itself was thicker, and he made a note to buy a better brush, because the old one would be woefully inadequate. "Well, congratulations piloswine," Max said as he familiarised himself with the way the evolved Pokémon looked. "You up for a test battle?"

The Ice-type reared up a bit in acceptance, and Max quickly took a few steps back just in case. "That's a yes," Danny commented needlessly, drily, as Max noticed the landing didn't trigger some kind of attack like Bulldoze. "I think we should work with piloswine's strengths now. Sceptile?"

Max shook his head. "I wanted him to fight manectric later. Once we're somewhere we can destroy without too much of an issue." They weren't too far from where Max had caught deerling, in a part that wasn't as densely covered with trees. Still too dry around to throw a lot of electricity here and there, though. "You got diggersby on you?"

"Oh, I _like_ that," Danny said, smirk audible. "Yeah, a bit of Hammer Arm practice wouldn't be wrong either. Piloswine might have an advantage with Dig, though."

Bulldoze at full strength was also a good way to destroy things around. "You okay with not using Dig, piloswine?" Max asked, and the returning snort was gruff, but accepting. "On my mark, then."

Once the two teenagers had put at least thirty feet between them and the two Pokémon, and after checking with gardevoir if he was ready to block things headed for them, Max gave the signal, and both of the Pokémon wasted no time in launching an attack from range. A barrage of mud was met with a blast of ice, and while the Ice Beam seemed to be more powerful, it was not enough to blast through the Ground-type move.

Or perhaps piloswine wanted to explode it. The area covered in frost wasn't that much bigger than it had been as a swinub, but then again, the attack had been diminished.

Diggersby rushed forward, looking to get something in with the ears – Hammer Arm was Max's guess – and piloswine started running to meet him. Danny's Pokémon got up to speed faster, giving him a slight advantage, but the Ice-type just grunted, before heaving his face and tusks upwards. The move threw diggersby off-balance just a tiny bit, and an icy snort produced a burst of extreme cold that got in before the Protect had formed.

A vicious slam of the arms forced piloswine back a bit, giving enough room for diggersby to back off, but with another snort, Mist started to form on the field. "Not now," Max ordered, and it stopped immediately. "Want to _see_ what you can do. We stink at smelling stuff."

"Really?" Danny whispered as an Ice Beam was instead used, still exploding as diggersby got out of the way; this time at full strength and covering an area that looked about Max's height in radius. "Did you have to?"

The Swine Pokémon charged forward, looking to bodily tackle diggersby, and the rabbit-like Pokémon was ready, using a Hammer Arm to try and block it. Emphasis on try: both of them came out worse for the wear. The Fighting-type move did a number, but so did the transferred momentum of… However heavy the rampaging piloswine was, and diggersby was knocked back, hitting a tree.

"That's enough for now," Max called, and both of the Pokémon stopped, instead making their way over. Diggersby had definitely felt that last impact, but piloswine just seemed to have had his ego bruised. Or maybe it was the evolution energy still giving him a bit of a rush. "One more thing, okay?" Max asked as the Ice-type walked up. "What's the maximum range on your Ice Beam now?"

The attack came out and gardevoir helpfully moved over to where the attack had started weakening visibly and harshly. "That looks like… I think it's about twice as far?" Danny guessed. "Still better up close, though. Being able to block that Hammer Arm is pretty good."

"Seems like it," Max said, running his hands through the fur with a little difficulty. It really was thicker than it had been, and it was also somewhat damp. "Gonna return him now. I think he might need a trim before the Conference."

"Y'know, overheating Ice-types sounds kinda like a paradox," Danny said after he, too, had returned his Pokémon, which prompted spritzee and deerling to move back up, having fully recovered from everything that had happened earlier. "But I guess that fur isn't perfect insulation."

"Or he doesn't really know how to use it for his bigger body," Max offered, causing Danny to let out a non-committal hum. "He wasn't clumsy though. Definitely seemed to know how to use his weight." Which reminded him of something, and he quickly looked up piloswine in the Pokédex as the others looked on. "Huh. That's a lot lighter than I thought."

"About my weight?" Danny said as he looked at the numbers on the screen. "I thought they were, like, at least fifteen pounds heavier. If not more. Aron was heavier than that."

"I thought it was closer to shelgon," Max admitted. "Just the way they look and mamoswine."

"You going to teach him Ancientpower?"

Max shook his head. "Later. But this close to the Conference, I think he's better off getting familiar with what he can do now instead of trying to add another new move and an evolution. Double evolutions that close together… They tend to have problems."

Charizard was a pretty big example that had been brought up many, many times.

 **~~§~~§~~**

The cave just north of Lilycove was abandoned except for a couple of amphibious Pokémon, and they were more interested in sleeping under the starry sky at this hour. It had taken some doing to ensure his wife wouldn't notice his absence, but a careful dose of Sleep Powder extract in her evening drink and she had asked for an early night that probably would not see her wake up for a few hours. Just like Philip wanted it, after a dead drop had asked for him to be here.

The reason for the dead drop was unknown, but the contact was bound to him in several ways. It had happened before, and it would again. Not for a while though: there'd been a lull after several operations had been dismantled back in May.

Oscar, the once and current drug peddler – yet surprisingly full of morals such as keeping children away from it and not using whatever he peddled himself – slid down a cliff on the far side. Audibly, but by design no doubt. Surprises up close were bad in both their lines of 'work'. "Oscar."

"Right on bleedin' time, aren't ya," the other man said, keeping a respectable fifteen feet difference. From what little Philip could see by the limited light, as moonrise was some time off still, Oscar looked healthy, or healthy enough for one who was stuck sleeping in ramshackle warehouses. "How's Ev?"

"Incredibly lucky," Philip remarked. He felt free to share that, knowing as he did Oscar's habits of seeking to protect children wherever possible. That had given the local police two new inhabitants of its cells a week or so back. Which was probably the topic of the meeting. "Through some connections, luck, and generosity, he's found himself an absol Egg. It hadn't hatched by the last letter, but it will undoubtedly have by now. Otherwise, six badges, going for seven, and a team with a lot of Dark-types."

A raspy chuckle. "Figures. Shorty liked poochyena too much for just being poochyena. Can't blame him. He's the kind who'd love the gritty Dark-type style. Met a few of those over the years."

"Haven't we all," Philip replied, causing Oscar to chuckle once more. "What caused you to call me here?"

"Mossdeep," was not the answer Philip was expecting, and he showed it with a shuffle of sand. "Talked to someone workin' on the ferries. Said there was something strange at the docks that night. Something moving where it shouldn't. And then his starmie went bonkers."

Which would've preoccupied him a bit more, naturally. "Where was this on the docks? Near the truck loading area?"

"No. Private harbour side. Some kind of small boat, but night was dark and all that."

Philip tried to envision the Mossdeep harbour, finding that he didn't have a great idea. It had been a year or so since he'd gone there, despite living fairly close. "Did he say how big the boat was?"

"Just said small boat," Oscar repeated. "Knowin' him, probably one of 'em private ones for four or so."

Philip sighed in return. "I guess it's something. Kyogre only knows how the islands hadn't been hit before."

"Hold the fuckin' phone," Oscar swore suddenly. "You think that boat's got ta do somethin' with the fuckin' attacks all over the place?"

Philip smiled weakly, not that it would show in the darkness. At least Oscar had cottoned on immediately. Then again, the man was not lacking in intelligence, merely in wisdom. "Pokémon don't attack out of nowhere. Not on this scale, not with this precision, not from trained and wild Pokémon alike. Something is stirring the pot, and human intervention is the most logical cause." Though the means through which it happened were as yet a mystery. "Perhaps I'm reading too much into it, but when I've heard rumours of some similar things happening elsewhere? It's something." Tenuous, but something. "Of course, this is another secret you must keep."

"Of bleedin' course. Not that anyone would believe me," Oscar replied bitterly. "Guess I get now why you asked 'bout being told anything about attacks."

"I had almost forgotten I had," Philip lied: there was no almost about it. "My expectation was that this was about last week's incident."

A hollow snort. "Shits were high on their own stuff. Makes messing with their brain real easy, know what I mean?"

That did explain the strange circumstances under which they'd been found. Naked, and babbling about weird lights. "Regardless, if you hear more, tell me as soon as feasible. If the islands aren't safe… Nowhere in Hoenn is. Including the Ever Grande Conference." And thankfully, that wasn't until December.

There was a muttered oath, but Oscar took the dismissal, walking off in the opposite direction and leaving Philip alone with his thoughts, of which there were many.

There was something decidedly fishy going on. The episode with his brother in law had confirmed that as his borrowed magneton had found something. The ensuing fight that had broken out after the Electric-type had let out a pulse of electromagnetism to fry it had destroyed whatever it was, but there weren't too many options for things hidden in narrow metal strips. That immediately called the entire story about how certain events had unfolded two summers ago into doubt, and from there, multiple threads could be picked at to hopefully unravel the entire tapestry.

Not for the first time, Philip wished that he hadn't been left in the dark. He knew where to find people to report to; even knew an identity or two more than he technically should, but contacting them was difficult in the extreme.

If only his cousin's and friend's role in the happened had never come to light.

"Shady meetings on the beach, midnight dalliances they are certainly not. What brings a man unknown to this place?"

The low growl of an absol carried just far enough to scare Philip.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Two more days until the Grand Festival, and Serena knew she was nervous. It wasn't constant or anything, but she wasn't falling asleep as fast as before, and the atmosphere around the Indigo Plateau was a lot easier to get caught up in when she normally didn't really care for stuff like that.

Which was why she was now checking out the surrounding area. She wasn't going to wander into the Victory Road area – she would be eaten alive in there – but Danny had told her of a quiet hollow that he, Max, and Ash had ended up using for strategy discussions without any distractions. Why they didn't do that in one of the Pokémon Centers, she hadn't asked, and she would've probably asked if it could be inside because February in Kanto was cold, but the three of them had plenty of ways of warming things up.

To her own surprise, she found it pretty quickly. A couple of large rocks, something that looked like it could be a fire pit, except it clearly hadn't been used in a while, overhanging cliffs on two sides, and a regular one on a third.

Was it her imagination, or was it really as silent as she thought it was?

The silence was broken by the buzzing sound of an insect Pokémon nearby, and a ninjask broke through the trees a moment later, before Serena had even sent braixen out. The black-and-yellow Pokémon crossed the distance in a flash, before circling around once, buzzing… happily?

Hang on, was that _Max's_ ninjask?

"Guess I'm getting company," she said to herself after the Bug-type had zoomed off at full speed, flying high above the treeline, probably heading towards the Plateau due west.

It was something they would do. Danny had probably suggested it, and with Max having two Pokémon that could bring them everywhere in the area… It was incredibly them, and Serena felt a smile overtaking her face, happy warmth surging in her chest.

It was about ten minutes before Danny arrived, his back to her for a moment, but recognisable anyway. "Hey Serena!" he said after turning around, voice sounding so different than the phones they usually used, and a smile overtook his face as well. "Guess you found the place, huh."

They had a good friendly hug – and Serena did notice Danny bending his knees slightly. He was a lot taller than she was, even worse than it had been at Yule. "Just wandered and found it," she admitted as they took a rock each. Braixen and ninjask sat nearby, with xatu being all mystic on a rock, while Danny's houndour seemingly preferred to stay near its – her, she thought? - Trainer. "Max not coming?"

"Max needed a shower after doing some morning exercise. Seriously," Danny said, eyes alight with mirth, "houndour was whining like mad when she smelled him."

Serena remembered that they were doing that, but it did leave the obvious question on the table… "So… How is he getting here?"

"Gardevoir's learning to Teleport to people," was Danny's answer, and one that caused Serena to raise her eyebrows in surprise. "First time testing if he can 'port to me. If it fails, xatu's just going to just go back and get him." The fourteen year old shrugged, raising both his hands to chest level. "Or I could call him. Gardevoir knows where this is, too."

"Let's just wait for—" Serena said, before rocks tumbling down nearby and a sudden yelp interrupted her. She turned to the sound of the noise, and saw a teenager suspended in mid-air, a basket in one hand and looking like it should not be possible to be in that position. "Eh..."

Danny let out a loud guffaw, as Max was casually floated down by psychic powers, looking – after recovering – as if he did that every day. "I guess that's sort of a success?" the older of the two teenagers asked as the younger landed. "Or did you tell gardevoir to keep a bit of distance?"

"Not really," Max said as he put the basket down on the ground. "Think he might have done so by himself. He does that when going to people, remember?" He turned to Serena as the Psychic and Fairy-type appeared down at their level. "Guess you don't see that every day?"

"No, I don't see flying teenagers every day," Serena said, not wanting to resist the sarcasm. It prompted a snort from both the others. "And have you been out of the shower for more than five minutes?"

"No," the boys chorused. "You know me, Serena. I'm not going to wait." He closed the distance, and they hugged, similar to earlier. She could smell whatever shampoo he used on him. "It's good to see you again. Everything okay with you?"

She caught the eyes of the gardevoir to the back, and she inclined her head slightly as a sign of respect. A brief sensation of something incredibly familiar was her part in return. Expectation mixed with satisfaction? Was that even possible? Serena gave herself a mental shake, looking at the two boys and instantly just knowing that they'd noticed what had happened.

Of course they had. They were the two most observant boys she'd ever met. "Y'know. Bit nervous for the Grand Festival, but it's not been _that_ long since we last called," she said as both of them sat down. "All the same, really."

"Been over a month for me," Max replied, shrugging. "And nerves happen to everyone. You got your single move ready?"

She nodded. "Sure. Been practising for it for a month already. On and off," she added, but instantly feeling like that was a bit unneeded. "I actually don't have a lot of Pokémon that are good for that," she admitted. "But we're going to go with mareep using a Discharge sprinkler."

Unsurprisingly, it was Max who got it first, from the look on his face. "Discharge up and then several streams around mareep?" he asked, and she nodded. "Yeah, that's pretty good."

"There's more, though…" Serena added, smirking. "She can move it around a bit, so it's going to circle around her."

"Did you watch Ash's battles?" was not a question she expected. "Because that sounds a lot like a trick he picked up. Pikachu's shield, remember?" Max added for Danny, who nodded a moment later. "It's pretty power intensive, though."

"I'm not practising it any more," Serena told them. "Mareep needs the electricity in her coat for it. But that's okay, right?"

"You're the Coordinator, not us," Danny replied, repeating a favourite comment of them and causing a few chuckles. "But if you've got a plan or two for later rounds… What's the format again?"

"One Pokémon, but no move limits, then Double Battles," Serena said. She'd memorised that a long time ago. "Think I'll use cherrim for the main round. Sunny Day, Solarbeam, Weather Ball… You know the tricks. And I'll have to see for Doubles. I hope I'll get there."

"You better," Max said, but it wasn't threatening despite the words. "I want to see you in a Contest battle."

"I could show you after lunch."

Max shook his head. "Not the same thing. But if you want to battle, then I'm not going to say no."

She had walked right into that one, hadn't she? Ah, good old times. "Well… As long as you don't use manectric… Or sceptile… Or xatu… Or anyone you didn't catch in the last three months… I'm sure I can put up a good fight."

"You know I only caught deerling in that time, right? And that it's Doubles?"

"Exactly. Have to keep it fair somehow."

The laughter lasted for a good long while. _Xerneas,_ she had missed this.

"How far do you think you'll go?" Danny asked once everyone had quieted down. "I know you said you hoped to reach the battle stage, but hope and what you think is doable don't always agree."

"Well..." Serena started, casting her eyes around the clearing as she thought. "I think I've got a leg up with the Showcase experience, but not as much experience with the battles. Even after spending eight months here," she added before any of the boys could say something about that. "So on average, probably there? I think that's fine, though."

Max was clearly thinking about something, and both of the others recognised that. "I think it's going to depend on what kind of Coordinator you're up against in the Round of 16."

"What kind?"

"Serena's strength is that her Pokémon are pretty experienced at showing off, but they're not as good at endurance," Max answered Danny's question. "So if your opponent recognises that the Pokémon can get knocked out, you've got a tougher opponent than someone who tries to out-Coordinate you."

She thought back to the Contests that she hadn't won – all seven. She'd always qualified for the battle rounds, and at least four of the losses had been due to some hard-hitting attack somewhere costing her a lot of points and causing her tired Pokémon to become just a tiny bit more sloppy. "Now I'm really wondering if you didn't watch me secretly… That sounds really true." Doubt filled her. "And I didn't train for that. Stupid."

A rush of comforting warmth filled her, supportive and alien. She looked up, and saw gardevoir outlined in blue, with a small tendril reaching to… The boys? Were those their feelings? "Maybe that's true, but you can't change that now, Serena," Danny said, voice pitched lower and soothing.

"But because you know, you can still work with it. Unless you don't dodge any more."

That certainly wasn't the case, she reflected, looking at braixen for a moment and remembering when her starter had done a somersault with a twist to avoid a charging rapidash coated in a Flame Charge. That move had single-handedly gotten her her third ribbon. "You two are stupidly smart, has anyone mentioned that recently?"

"He's the smart half, I'm the stupid half," Danny joked, and they had another laugh at the blatant lie. "You coming to the Silver Conference after the Grand Festival is over?"

"If you're still in it," Serena shot back. They should be: the Grand Festival started on the first and ended on the fourth. "How far do you think you'll go? Maybe all the way this time, huh?"

Max shrugged. "That's a nice dream, but we're over two years younger than Ash when he was the youngest Champion in the Home Regions in ten years," he told her. "And there's an extra round here. I want top 8, though."

"And as per usual," Danny took over, "I'm fine with a round below that. We don't have Mega Evolution as a secret strategy this time, though, so… People might be prepared for manectric and aggron."

"Let them," Max said, shrugging again. "I've got a few more tricks up my sleeve."

He was probably referring to the gardevoir most of all, and with what had happened in Blackthorn – which she still needed to get the full story about, instead of a summary – Serena couldn't blame Max one bit.

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

Name: Danny Birch

Age: 14

Region: Hoenn

Trainer Class:Expert/Ace

Style: Unorthodox, Defence

Odds: 25-1

Notes: An atypical Trainer from Petalburg, Birch built a reputation for being infuriating to fight against and watch in the Kalos League that he most recently participated in. Unlike the average boy his age, Birch prefers defence, and is entirely at ease with using time to his advantage. Weather moves were used extensively to aid a variety of Pokémon; a duo of Ghost-types are fond of phasing through attacks, and if the long slogs weren't enough, there are a few hard hitters as well. As with any Trainer his age, depth might become a factor, but underestimate the amount of punishment his Pokémon can take, avoid, or nullify at your own risk.

Pokémon to watch: Froslass, swampert, aggron (Mega)

From: _Pokébet's_ profile of Danny Birch, retrieved prior to the start of the Silver Conference.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** And the remainder of the time until the Silver Conference, including Serena, a new piloswine, and two characters we hadn't seen in a while (and one in particular.)


	24. Shock And Awe

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 23: Shock And Awe**

It was an opening ceremony like most of the others that Lance had seen. One carefully selected runner – the Ecruteak mayor's son this time around – lighting the fire, all of the Trainers who had made it to the main tournament in the main stadium's arena, no last minute emergencies like the one year he'd not been here in Johto courtesy of something requiring his attention in Blackthorn… It was simultaneously comfortingly familiar and mildly disinteresting, on account of knowing exactly what was going to be said.

Thankfully, the politicians had their own VIP box to go to, leaving just a few people here. Karen, Will, Koga were here, while Bruno had been summoned to aid with a problem in the Victory Road complex. Falkner had come as well, on a lark if the time of arrival had been any indication. With a pidgeot that could travel to Violet in two hours, Lance could hardly see fault in the Gym Leader leaving his Gym alone for a spell. Chances were nobody was going to challenge him regardless in the evening hours. No other Gym Leaders had shown up, though he knew several would make the journey here.

It was a good selection of Trainers on the field, Lance knew. There were several professional battlers among the participants, and then another dozen or with similar skill levels and not calling themselves that. Something like a dozen Mega Evolutions were in the tournament in total, though luckily not more than one on the same person. Made enforcing the rules simple.

It wasn't hard to pick some people out, even from this height. Magnus from Sinnoh always had to be front and centre, and his imposing presence had caused a small gap to appear beside him. The man was fine with that, being introverted in nature and preferring the company of his Pokémon. Bugs, unlike the Fighting people would expect, were his forte. His perennial rival Regina wasn't too far away, though she had announced her retirement after the tournament on account of accepting a Gym Leader position in Unova.

Ivan and his Flying-types had helped Lance out with something a few months back; the straw-haired late teenager trying to blend in but failing on account of being surrounded by a host of excited first timers. Danny and Max stuck together as ever several excited pre-teens over. Cara had taken the region by storm by blasting through the Gyms in two months after arriving from Prudan, causing everyone to take notice. The electric blue hair helped in spotting her, and Lance knew the woman beside her was also a highly skilled Trainer from Prudan, though the name hadn't reached him.

"This seems like a field that should give us a challenge."

"It should," Lance answered Will's statement. "Are you ready to be the initial challenge after this tournament?"

"Making my debut in a match of champions, you mean," Will replied, and Lance conceded that point. The previous top two in Johto hadn't quite managed to reach Will – then in the fourth rotational slot – though one had been close before poisons had proven his downfall. The time before that had been a wash entirely after Agatha had dominated the challengers upon the eve of her retirement.

Mr. Goodshow started to speak up, his speech as passionate as ever. It would be a great loss when the man were to retire, or more likely, pass away. People like him did not stop unless forced to, and Lance hoped dialga would grant the man time to do what he so clearly loved.

A laugh went through the stadium as the new format was explained, or rather, misexplained, by the short grey-haired man. It was fairly complicated, Lance felt, and he knew for a fact that it had caused the planners to despair. Fitting over three hundred matches into two days was a logistical nightmare, and one on a far larger scale than previous round robin experiments. It would test team depth like few other tournaments would, but that was what the Silver Conference did: to innovate and iterate.

It would be interesting to see how the participants were to deal with it.

He didn't stick around after the ceremony was done. As ever, he tried to follow as much as he could of the tournament of his home region, but that meant that other things that came to his attention had to be fit into a much smaller window.

And that time was further diminished by the mildly unwelcome sight of a familiar Dragon-type near the Grand Champion's temporary abode. Less astute observers might have seen the blue dragon and attributed it to be Lance's own, but there were subtle differences that were easy to spot, if you knew what you were looking for. The slight patch of scar tissue on one of the ridges above the salamence's eye, for example: his own had other battle wounds.

This one was Reginald's. And moreover: there was a letter hanging off the short neck, strapped tightly so flight wouldn't dislodge it.

The discretion was appreciated, given the eyes of the world were aimed in this direction, and while some legal statuses weren't that hotly disputed at the moment, Reginald was still wanted as the leader of a subversive organisation.

It wasn't the Gym Leader's elegant script that appeared once he opened the letter, though. It was blocky, unrefined, and yet wholly that of the one who wrote it. And it was, Lance recognised as soon as he had passed the first paragraph, a very fortuitous event.

Information from Hoenn wasn't too hard to come by, but on this topic, from a natural ally in the matter like Sidney? Who had come across a slightly careless, though very enterprising, lower ranked member of the G-men, it seemed…

The question was if he could get away with a visit to Steven not soon after the Silver Conference and not have it be suspicious.

And then the phone rang.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Max hurried towards the field he was due at, through bustling Silver Town and past more than a few trainers. He couldn't use xatu, having never been at this specific field, but he really wished he could after he'd been stuck inside thinking after waking up late.

Last night's news had cost him hours of sleep. Both of them, in fact, but Max more than Danny. And in the wee hours, after Danny had gone to bed and fallen asleep, Max had just sat there, not really looking at anything.

Hearing that someone you looked up to – and Max knew he did – was in palliative care and not expected to last the week was the worst. Had Drake been ill when they had been on his ship? When they had first met? Had his body already started the process of killing him slowly and painfully?

There were many illnesses Pokémon could alleviate or even heal. Certain Grass-types could help with lung infections. Chansey egg extract worked on humans, primarily being used to stabilise people. Audino were impressively good at detecting ailments, and Healing Wish and Heal Pulse were capable of healing people.

But it'd take xerneas or jirachi to heal Drake from the cancer that ravaged his body. And they weren't available.

He now understood what exactly his parents had meant when they said cancer was the worst, back when he'd just returned from travelling with Ash and the rest. And he really wished he hadn't.

Somehow, he managed to get to the field on time, in one piece, and without bumping into anyone else. "Sorry," he said, getting his breathing under control and seeing his opponent – Dany from Unova – and the referee already present. It seemed the previous match had long ended, though there were more than a few people waiting anyway. Danny included, who gave him a raised eyebrow. "Nearly overslept."

"I can't give you more than a minute for a breather," the referee said, checking his watch. "Are you okay starting?"

"I'm fine," Max replied, taking one calming breath and finding it wasn't really needed. He wasn't even that winded. "Good luck."

"Good luck," his fifteen year old opponent replied, holding out a hand for Max to shake. They did so, before taking up position at opposite ends.

Max sent out piloswine and deerling, and immediately winced at the opponents. One Alolan Pokémon he had heard of: a salazzle – Poison and Fire-type, meaning deerling wouldn't be happy at all – and a magcargo, which was almost as bad.

But Max trusted in his Pokémon to get the job done. They could, and he had ways of dealing with the fire that was inevitably going to come his way.

The referee signalled the start, and magcargo immediately started releasing smoke, hiding the two Fire-types from view. Probably not poisonous fumes, but not something that deerling would like.

So piloswine it was. "Middle, then Ice Beam."

His two Pokémon stuck together and at the same time didn't – being close enough that each could help the other in a flash, but far enough apart that one oversized attack wouldn't hit the both of them, and they advanced to the middle of the arena, where piloswine inhaled before releasing an Icy Wind.

It reacted with the smoke, covering the magcargo in cold soot, even if it immediately melted due to the Fire-type's internal heat.

Salazzle, however, was nowhere to be…

The Alolan Pokémon sprung from the ground, unleashing a wave of pink from barely five feet away right into deerling – who started to react, but too slowly. Piloswine couldn't react for fear of including deerling in a retaliation

And the Shadow Ball on deerling's nose fizzled out as the attack started to affect the small green Pokémon.

Piloswine was unaffected, moving forward in an attempt to use a Take Down on the Fire-type, which she let happen, retaliating with a wave of purple that definitely got into the mouth of Max's Ice-type.

 _Fuck._

"Deerling, Shadow Ball on magcargo!"

Salazzle moved between deerling and magcargo, and once again, the Shadow Ball fizzled as the Attract played with deerling's mind. It cost him, eating a Rock Blast after salazzle jumped up, and Max hoped that it would short-circuit the unnatural attraction.

Piloswine took that moment to unleash an Ice Beam, one that connected with salazzle, locking her feet in place, before he, too, headed for the magcargo, thundering along. A Flamethrower was intercepted by a Shadow Ball, and the explosion covered the Mud Slap that piloswine threw into the magcargo.

It burst into flame, trying to get rid of the sand and mud everywhere, but deerling threw an Energy Ball in as well, which reacted to the fire. Violently.

Then piloswine added an Ice Beam to that, and though fire melted ice, the Swine Pokémon's unique talent at exploding his attacks came in handy, though he paid for it by eating a Dragon Pulse from the salazzle.

Max shook his head, not wanting to think about that.

"Deerling, back, and focus on your surroundings," Max gave the coded command. "Piloswine, interference."

The Ice-type roared with glee, and an Icy Wind stopped another purple attack – this time a Venoshock – in its tracks, and Max saw the surprise in salazzle's expression before it vanished, the Fire-type slithering off with a rain of Embers from magcargo covering the retreat. They spread across piloswine's fur with little to show for it.

Meanwhile, deerling had closed his eyes and was slowly starting to glow. A brown glow, drawing from the sand and earth all around.

Salazzle started on a run, and piloswine moved to intercept, but this time, the magcargo was ready to counter that, and a Flamethrower curtain blocked him from landing a Take Down on the Poison-type, who got right up to the concentrating deerling. "Now!" Max yelled.

It was too early; and he knew it, but deerling did as asked, unleashing the energy straight down even as salazzle landed a Poison Jab. A localised Earthquake shot across Max's half of the field, demolishing it fully and throwing both Pokémon around like they were in a tumble dryer. Piloswine wouldn't be able to move across it, but there was just enough room for him to throw an Ice Beam in.

Max thought it hit both, but considering how everything had gone… That was probably for the best. "Get the magcargo, now!" he ordered, gesturing with his right hand as his left returned the fainted deerling: the Nature Power gone bad, the Ice Beam, and the Poison Jab coming together to completely overwhelm the Grass-type's defences. "Quick!"

There wasn't a lot of time. Toxic – and Max was pretty sure it was that – ramped up the longer it stayed in a system, and though piloswine was tough… Salazzle had a reputation for being incredibly efficient with their poisons.

And Dany knew that, immediately ordering magcargo to start building a wall of rocks to keep piloswine at bay. An Ice Beam was launched, but the defender's advantage kept magcargo safe: it was easier for it to rebuild the wall than it was for piloswine to break through it.

That left only one recourse. "Ram it!"

It nearly worked. Piloswine put everything into the attack, breaking straight through, nearly goring the Fire and Rock-type before throwing it into the shields, which went fluorescent blue for a moment, but then he collapsed.

And magcargo didn't. Batttered, sure. But…

He'd lost.

In the first round.

Max returned his Pokémon. Danny approached, took him by the arm, and they moved.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Xatu didn't drop the two of them in the Pokémon Center room, as Danny had asked, but instead they were somewhere entirely else. A vague rushing sound was removed, turning into the sterilised silence that came with the Mystic Pokémon throwing a barrier up, and Danny took a moment to quickly look around.

It wasn't somewhere he recognised, meaning it had to have been Max's memories of travelling around. That didn't narrow it down too much, but the fact that he could see a waterfall in the middle distance – the sound that was blocked, Danny realised – and knowing a few things about Kanto-Johto geography filled in where they were. Tohjo Falls. Which was at least forty miles south of Silver Town. "You can take us back," Danny asked xatu, getting only a silent stare as a reply, confirming it was so. "Of course. Sorry."

"Tu," the Psychic-type intoned, waving a wing at the waterfall and beyond, way beyond, where a large building was visible. Still miles away, but it was vaguely familiar nevertheless.

Danny resolved to ask xatu what it was when gardevoir was also around, just so translation could be given, but first… "What in the name of groudon and jirachi was that battle?" he demanded of Max, who just shrunk visibly, seemingly still shocked. "I mean, she played the game well and clearly had a good strategy on her mind, but… You lost in the first thirty seconds with that Smokescreen, Dig, Attract, Toxic combination. And if you'd told piloswine to use Earthquake, you would've stopped that."

"Piloswine barely knows how to use it," Max retorted, at least getting some anger into him. Only a bit, but enough to fan. "And I couldn't see it happened because of the smokescreen."

"And I did a version of that same trick against you as early as months ago," Danny replied calmly. "Froslass and diggersby. And you cottoned on. Immediately." He shushed Max with a gesture. A dismissive one. On purpose. "You both underestimated your opponent and you got carried away by the news."

"Hard not to."

"And what would Drake have said?" Danny said, knowing full-well he was hitting Max with the cheapest shot he could imagine, but feeling equally confident it was the right thing to do. There was no time for moping, and if he had to twist a knife for it, so be it. "You're damn lucky not to be out of the tournament, and don't give me that about this being a different tournament and you've got a chance. You _should_ be out."

Finally, Max seemed to get the message, but whatever Danny was expecting after that had happened – and anger was the balance of it – a hollow chuckle was not on the list. "And so May ends up being right after all," Max explained. "You're right, though. I was… What?"

It was a few moments before Danny had himself under control enough to reply. "Look," he started, before coughing and trying to keep his voice without the incredulous tone. _That_ wouldn't help. "I know you. I've never heard you say I was right _this_ fast. It's been anywhere from a week to half a day, back when you had that fight with Evan," he said. "Forgive me if I'm surprised." He threw Max a half-glare. "And you still need to fix this."

"So, what _should_ I do, oh he-who-knows-me," Max said, and though Danny saw and heard the smirk, there was something more to it. Best not to dwell on that. "Tell me."

"Use your brain, at least check what Pokémon they have, and maybe go a bit harder than you'd be comfortable with," Danny answered. "Don't send out sceptile and baltoy into a beginner, but be a bit more ruthless." He shrugged. "And maybe offer to help the kid you're facing later today."

"That match wasn't anywhere near ours."

Danny gave Max a look. "Fifth League against barely thirteen year old. You can do math."

"Point."

 **~~§~~§~~**

Danny left Max and his new hanger-on slash friend on the sidelines as he ran through what he knew of his opponent. Of an age with Danny, from Sinnoh, second League, no real rhyme or reason to Pokémon except a curious lack of Pokémon that could fly. Hover, sure: he had a baltoy and a bronzor for Psychic-types, with the bronzor being used the day before a swell, but nothing that went high into the sky.

Somehow, Danny doubted that Kenneth had gotten a Zephyr Badge in his round through Johto.

He decided to go for houndour and masquerain, helped by the fact that the sun was high in the sky and trying its best to burn them. It would also mask any aerial approaches.

He took a moment to look at Max and Chris – Max's opponent from the loser's round the day before. It hadn't been close, but the two had bonded over Psychic-types, because of course Max had found someone with a drowzee and a butterfree. He'd probably be hanging around for the rest of the tournament, and honestly… That was okay. Danny knew Max liked teaching people about Psychic-types.

Kenneth's Pokémon appeared at the same time as Danny's did, and the fourteen year old made sure to keep his face under control, even as he knew the audience would not. That was a parasect at the opposite end, alongside an ambipom.

It knew Protect, which was enough to shield it from the opportunistic bout of flame that houndour sent along as the other Pokémon started moving for position, but then masquerain unleashed one of the newer tricks to his arsenal: an Air Slash that impacted hard on the parasect. To its credit, it immediately launched a host of Leech Seeds at masquerain, but houndour had been watching, and a flurry of Ember shot them all out of the sky.

The Dark-type got swept off her feet by ambipom, whose… Hands? Tails? Glowed a draconic green; Dual Chop nearly hitting but for a good roll away by houndour. Masquerain then interjected with a fierce gust of wind that also served to throw up a lot of dust and sand, and ambipom slunk off, avoiding a Flamethrower even as Danny noticed a Solarbeam being rapidly charged at the other end.

The Bug and Flying-type flew straight into it, diffusing it while not being too affected himself, except for the kinetic energy behind it, and that allowed houndour to quickly move forward while parasect was blinded by the impact. This time, Flamethrower did hit, and that was enough.

Probably one that was even more vulnerable to fire than normal, then.

This left a two-on-one, and Danny's Pokémon knew what to do in that situation. Ambipom did get in a nasty swipe that nearly cuffed houndour in the jaw: only a last minute turn diverting it to the main body, which was no less painful, but at least a bit more likely to keep her able to use fire, but masquerain was pretty good at using Gust, and this use bought houndour the time to move to range and start using Embers liberally.

From that position, it was over. Kenneth and his ambipom tried. Oh, they tried very hard, revealing a Thunderbolt that caught masquerain by surprise, and a Solarbeam of its own that nearly overpowered the Flamethrower houndour sent in, but in the end, two on one is still two on one, and with parasect not able to leave its mark on the battle except for a well-resisted attack…

"That looked pretty easy!" Chris said as Danny walked over, qualification for the second group phase earned. He had stopped by Kenneth for a moment, discussing the sheer bad luck that had taken place. The teenager from Sinnoh had lamented not picking his quagsire, but he was a good sport about it nevertheless. "What was parasect going to do?"

"Probably use all sorts of powders to disable anything that got in close. Effect Spore can do that," Max opined, and the curly-haired brunette looked a bit confused. "Parasect's mushroom tends to have all sorts of powders on it. If you hit it… Imagine punching a lump of flour."

"It goes everywhere," Danny added drily. "No Dry Skin, you think?"

"I saw some powders being flung off after Air Slash hit."

"But Air Slash is energy," Chris countered. 'That's not punching."

"Most attacks still have kinetic energy behind them," Max explained patiently as they started walking back in the direction of the village centre. "Think about Water Gun. Water doesn't do anything if there's no pressure, and pressure means kinetic energy." He smiled. "Psychic-type moves generally don't use it directly, but indirectly."

"Like Trick Room or even just throwing things around," Danny added, but then his stomach grumbled. "Yeah, I need lunch. Catch you in two hours at field five?" he said, knowing that the other two had already had a full lunch – while he had gone for a large breakfast and a brunch snack, which was coming back to bite him now.

"Sure," Max and Chris chorused.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Like the previous day, the match before Max's was done early; the result pretty cut-and-dry from what Danny had seen. An unfortunate match-up had spelled the end for the girl from Hoenn from the start; sending out a growlithe and a raichu into a rhydon and a swanna. The graceful flying Pokémon was free to do whatever it wanted while the rhydon used its Ability to intercept all of the electrical attacks. Growlithe did a bit more, but there the sturdiness of the Rock typing was a hindering factor.

And Earthquake. Mustn't forget Earthquake, Danny mused as the field was restructured in front of the watching eyes of the small audience, though one that was approaching a couple dozen people regardless. It seemed that people had heard of what was happening here somehow, and that it was a rematch.

Dany was there earlier, Danny saw from the corner of his eye, flanked by two other girls who hadn't been there before. Probably her age, too. "He's not here? Again? Really?" she said after trying to find Max. She did spot him. "You. Where's your friend."

"Probably on his way," Danny replied evenly as some of the other people watching stepped aside. "He'll be here. Still has… Eight minutes?" He checked the time on his Pokénav. "Okay, seven. Still fine." And this time, xatu knew where it was, and the Psychic-type would make sure Max was here in time if he was engrossed in trying to write the letter he wanted to.

"Pah. Chicken's probably scared," said one of the other girls, in a voice that was at odds with how she looked. Probably some kind of throat bug – female voices did not get that gravelly without help. "You can take 'im, Dany."

"I beat him before," Max's opponent said, and Danny noticed that the third girl in the group wasn't really on board with the boasting, if the conflicted look on her face was a sign. "I'll do it again. Maybe then he'll go home and think about what real Trainers are like." Dany screwed her face up, filling Danny with mild unease. "Oh, wait. You two don't have a home right now."

Silence fell as everyone processed that remark, and Danny took a moment to centre himself after the low blow. He made to speak, but another voice cut across. "Home is wherever my friends are," Max said from behind the girls, and they turned around, parting to reveal the shorter teenager. He didn't give them a look, instead fiddling with two of the pokéballs on his belt. "I'm here now. If the referee agrees, we can start."

"You can," the referee – a woman in her forties – said. "Whenever you are ready."

Dany and her troupe started moving to the one furthest away from them, and one of them shoved Danny ever so lightly as she moved past. "Oops," the black-haired one said. "Sorry."

The insincerity oozed off her raspy voice and posture, but Danny paid it no mind. Instead, he glanced over at Max, who'd not moved for some reason, instead looking at Danny from afar. When he saw that his best friend was looking back, all that he did was to tap his wristband twice.

In response, Danny took a few steps towards the halfway line. "Miss?" Danny asked the referee, who turned towards him. "How powerful are the shields?"

"I have another Pokémon," was the reply, and the woman tapped on her own wristband – this one with pokéballs shrunk and stuck to them – to release a kadabra. "Why?"

"I'm pretty sure I know what's coming."

That got him a raised eyebrow, but she nodded, and kadabra ported over to the other side, joining the mr. mime that was keeping attacks in check.

Max raised his hand after the standard rules spiel that had to be mandatory for the referees to say. The shields stayed down, and Dany also didn't send her Pokémon out. "You know, I'd hoped we'd have a good match," Max's voice rang out. "But after what you said… You're not getting one." He threw two capsules high into the air, and they revealed baltoy and manectric. "I'm going to enjoy this. You aren't."

"No way!" said a familiar voice near Danny's shoulder, and he glanced away from the Mega Evolution that he'd seen way too often. Chris had appeared as if by Teleport; the curly-haired teen's eyes wide in awe. "That's… Wow!"

Unfortunately for Dany, she hadn't selected a Ground-type. Instead, two Alolan Pokémon were on the field; the salazzle she had used earlier and a multi-coloured Pokémon that Danny'd seen before, but Chris seemingly hadn't.

 _Turtonator, the Blast Turtle Pokémon. It gushes fire and poisonous gases from its nostrils. Its dung is an explosive substance that has many uses. It lives in volcanoes around Alola._

Okay, that was new on Danny. Explosive dung? Probably not something you could use in a battle, but… Who knew?

It was part Dragon, but somehow, Danny thought that was not going to be an issue.

Dual Flamethrowers went out first, Max faking a gracious gesture for his opponent to have the initial attack. Baltoy threw up a Rock Tomb that comfortably blocked them both halfway, and while the rock did shatter, it shattered away from Max.

It hid two seconds of manectric starting to run, and that was more than enough. The spiked Pokémon rushed forward, and while salazzle was quick enough to get into the ground to dodge the Discharge… Turtonator was not, and the large Pokémon flailed in pain as its muscles failed from electrical overstimulation.

The Dragon-typing and its resistance to electricity was the only reason the Alolan Pokémon could still move after the barrage, but then rocks pelted it hard, fast, and mercilessly. They _were_ enough to ensure that the turtonator fainted, in what had to be less than half a minute. Including a small stand-off at the start.

Salazzle burst out of the ground, pink Attract splashing on manectric and not doing anything except to make her sneeze exaggeratedly.

Danny glanced over at Max, even as Chris enthused about baltoy blocking a spray of Toxic with just psionic powers, and something felt… Just a bit off.

Then manectric started attacking. Weak attacks by comparison, about the strength of helioptile's average, but fast enough to force the lithe opponent to try and slither out of harm's way one way or another.

It didn't work. It never was going to. The Mega-evolved Pokémon eventually found her target, stopping the Fire-type in her tracks, and then…

Keeping the attack on. Continuously. Manectric increased the power to the point where salazzle couldn't do too much, but it was still far less powerful, far slower to knock out, than most of what she did.

Understanding struck suddenly. Max and manectric were doing the same, within their means, as Dany and salazzle had done yesterday, differing only in that they did not give chances to fight back while waiting for the inevitable to happen.

It was a sharp reminder that Max could be extremely ruthless when he felt like it.

Dany let her Pokémon suffer for ten seconds after that reminder, and then forfeited the match. The shields went down, and Danny clearly saw her about to say something. Judging by the scowl, it wasn't complimentary.

But Max was faster. "Your strategy yesterday was good, and you won fair and square, like I told you," he said, teenage voice ringing out clearly. "But if you thought you could cow me with some words like that? You don't know what you're talking about."

"That's enough, Mister Maple," the referee cut across sharply. "There is no need to be what you profess to react against."

Manectric shifted back as Max inclined his head, and then he started moving towards Danny and Chris. Some of the audience took a step back in either shock or awe, and Danny knew Max noticed, but all it did was to increase the satisfied smirk. "There. Bit more ruthless."

"What was it going to be, originally?"

"Poliwhirl," Max said, shrugging, then grinning at Chris, who clearly wanted to approach manectric. "She's a softie, Chris. She's partial to getting scratches on her flanks, though."

The thirteen-year-old obliged, to happy barks from the canine.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Knowing your child was in a tournament you couldn't watch was nothing new for Norman. It had happened before, would probably happen again if Max kept on doing what he did – and there was no reason for him not to – and accordingly, the Petalburg Gym Leader always closed for the night early during those times, so he could look up how his children were doing.

It was no different for this time, with the exception that there weren't any calls this time. He and Caroline knew that they were lucky in that they had a videophone at home, but also with children who dearly loved their parents and wanted to stay in contact as much as possible. Philip and Louse weren't that lucky, nor were most other parents Norman knew.

It made the absence a bit harder, but as the months had passed, the hole had been patched over. Mostly.

He navigated to the website of the Silver Conference with ease, finding Danny's name with ease – the draw for the second round had already taken place and he had ended up in the third group of that strange system that the Johtoans had concocted this time. Max's name was found a little later, in the second half, and as he clicked through to the results, something immediately stood out.

There were three matches there. Not two.

His son had lost the first match? How on Earth…

The match-up wasn't stellar, for sure, Norman instantly recognised that. Sheer dumb luck, probably, but Max had been around Ash too much to instantly lose faith. But a salazzle… Yes, that would do it.

Poison was ever the weapon of the weaker against the stronger, and the magcargo probably stalled for as long as it could before fainting.

Norman went back, spotting that the rematch had been in Max's favour, but when he checked the individual data, he had to stop himself from spilling tea over his trousers.

Either his son had wanted to take no chances at all, which wasn't impossible, or there was more than met the eye.

Luckily, the internet had many a recourse, and Norman was well aware that there were entire forums dedicated to discussing what happened at tournaments. He studiously avoided discussions regarding Gym Leaders there, but he could take a quick look.

The first website held the jackpot, as someone had apparently been there. It seemed Max's opponent had issued a challenge – rudely, in Norman's biased opinion – and Max had responded harshly by first knocking out a part Dragon-type in two hits and then keeping a continuous stream of electricity on the salazzle; enough to disable, not enough to knock out immediately.

In other times, Norman would've asked why and probably reprimanded Max for being cruel like that. But now? After being away from home so much, forced and unforced?

It was just understandable enough. _Just._

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _Look, I don't know what happened earlier. I can guess, but wasn't there. Driver gloated a bit to Maple's friend about what happened in Hoenn, and Maple heard. Plus, yanno, regular mind games. Dunno why, kid's fought yveltal, but whatever._

 _All I know is that Maple decided to take off the kid gloves and unleash his ace and that baltoy. Turtonator ate Discharge and rocks and boom, out. Salazzle tried to use Attract but failed. Manectric then caught it and kept electricity on the salazzle for thirty seconds, only disabling and not knocking out. Driver forfeited after that, and Maple told her that she did well yesterday before laying into her gloating._

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Ah, Toxic. It's the type of trick that only works once, especially in a 'real life' situation like this, but it only needs to work once. Except here, because double elimination and, well... Overwhelming firepower.

Important note: there will be no updates until February 2019. Mostly on account of me knowing what January is looking like and the time I have to write looks fairly minimal. Plus, I'm in need of plotting out the tail end of the fic, so that also takes up a bit of time. The general idea is known, but the particulars, well... I have loose ends that need to be wrapped up. One or two of which might have been mentioned this very chapter.

See you first weekend of February!


	25. Business As Usual

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 24:** **Business As Usual**

Zorua jumped on altaria's back again, doing a flip and sticking the landing to score some points in the process as Serena's dragon soared back into the sky, away from the dugtrio that had been trying to make something happen all match long. Apart from a set of rocks that had forced a crude dodge, its impact on the fight had been minimal, and the score reflected that. She was ahead by a small but noticeable margin, but a minute and twenty seconds remained.

She didn't need to look to her left to know that her friends were cheering for her with all they could.

A circle of pink fired off into the immobile cradily, but neither it nor the ball of purple-black that zorua added to the mix did much to hurt the well-trained Ingrain-using fossil Pokémon, and it didn't break the concentration either.

Something was about to happen, her instinct told her, and Serena listened.

"Disrupt it," she ordered, and altaria stopped for a moment before accelerating into a dive; zorua tensing up, ready to jump and split off so they could bracket the Pokémon with a Perish Song stereo attack. It was a repeat from earlier and would cost some points, but it was effective, and if anything was going to stop her from reaching the semi-finals, it was one big attack.

Which appeared as altaria levelled out over flat ground, needing to do so to give zorua an easier time dismounting, and immediately, the earth rose up at least fifteen feet, and dugtrio and cradily rode it.

It surged forward with the speed of a tidal wave, and despite altaria's best attempt, she could not get out of the soon enough. Zorua had flattened himself against the dragon's back, meaning both of them went down as Serena's flying Pokémon was clipped and swallowed by the avalanche.

There was an Earthquake to follow it up, and an Ancientpower as well, and then the attacks stopped to allow the dust to clear out.

Altaria wasn't knocked out yet, but she wasn't in flying order, and dugtrio vanished underground in a flash even as zorua was ruled out.

Serena chose to end on her terms, returning altaria before dugtrio could do more.

And honestly? That was a combination well-executed. Stupid that they fell into it in hindsight, but there was no use crying over spilt milk like that. She had learned that, and against a lauded opponent like hers, with two top four finishes in the last five years here in Kanto? She could live with that.

What was that saying again? It was the journey that mattered, not the result?

Her opponent – Lauren from Cinnabar – accepted the applause from the audience as she was declared the winner, but then gestured in her direction, bowing and proceeding to clap herself.

They were too far apart to speak, but the intent was clear. She deeply respected Serena's efforts. And that was all the Kalosian teen could ask for from an opponent.

Making it to the audience in time for the last quarter-final to start was hard, even taking into account that the field had to be fixed after the destruction. "Having to walk around makes no sense," she grumbled as she sat down next to Danny. "Could've just climbed over the wall."

"Would've been easier," Danny agreed, looking at her, Max leaning forward and trying to look past the broader teenager. "That was a close fight, and you were outdoing your opponent on points before that avalanche."

"Copycat did a –" Max started, but a roar of the crowd drowned his words out. He glared around, before noticing the arena, spotting the two next participants walking in probably, shrugging, and giving Serena a thumbs up.

She had an idea of what he wanted to say anyway.

Twenty minutes and a quick change of clothes in a toilet later, the three of them were outside in the heat again. There was a long break before the semi-finals, which took place late in the afternoon, meaning there was time for them to have some lunch before the boys would go back to Silver Town. "When are you coming over again?" Danny asked, not having been in on the discussion earlier: he'd been the one in line for the food while Max had waited for Serena to switch into her regular clothes.

"Couple days." She adjusted her grip on the chopsticks that had come with the boxes. The food was delicious, if not sweet enough for what she wanted. "Just want a day of peace and quiet, because xerneas knows I won't have one of those over there." They all laughed at that truth. "How's early on the seventh sound? I know that's a rest day for you, like today."

Danny deferred to Max, who nodded, waiting with his reply on account of food. "Sure," he said after swallowing. "Just call me on the Pokénav and I'll send xatu over." He seemed to think of something. "You okay sharing a room with Evan?"

She blinked, wondering what brought that question on. "I did that on Cinnabar and on the boat there. That was only a month ago." She cocked her head. "Didn't I tell you that?"

"Maybe it was just me?" Danny guessed as Serena tried to remember if she'd actually _told_ Max. He hadn't been in the best of moods, understandably so, and maybe he'd just missed it. "I mean, I'm sure Evan will complain. About waking up before noon."

The two boys chuckled, and Serena smiled as best she could with food in her mouth. "He wasn't _that_ bad in Cinnabar," Serena said innocently, before grinning wickedly. "Not after pulling the curtain on him on the first day."

That caused even more laughter, and if people looked at them funny, let them.

The rest of lunch passed in silence, apart from the potty mouth pre-teen actually calling – as the duo had told her he would. He had apparently won his Gym Battle, something that did cause Max to smile fondly as he answered the call.

"Oh, eh..." Danny said suddenly, just as Max ended the call. "Max? How do you think Evan and Chris are going to get along?"

"Chris?"

"Max's opponent after he lost his first match," Danny said, definitely still not happy with how that had gone down. Serena could imagine it very well. "Newbie. Think Hugo, before..." Tyranitar. "And really into Psychic-type Pokémon. Has more of 'em than Max. Really enthusiastic and outgoing, but I don't think he's going to be a good battler. Not wired like that. He's the hanger-on like Hugo was."

"Should be fine. Besides, Leagues is where you make new friends," Max said. "Ash did it all the time too. And neither of us really knew Jane – and we sorta knew Keith. Emphasis on the sorta. Then Ever Grande and the rest is history."

"Including them being boyfriend and girlfriend for fifteen months now?" Serena asked drily, and after a quick mental check, Danny's nod confirmed it. "It's pretty romantic how they travel together."

"I've told them before that they're quote _nauseatingly in love_ end quote with each other," Max replied equally drily, before shaking his head. "Even their Pokémon are starting to tease them about it."

"Oh?" Serena and Danny chorused.

"Something Keith said last week. He and Jane had a 'kiss'," Max said, adding air quotes with tone and fingers both, "and when they came back to the Eterna Forest, some of their Pokémon were covering their eyes to not have to see it. Even leafeon was in on it." Max caught Serena's look of confusion before she could ask. "Keith found an eevee near Lumiose, and he was the shyest thing you could imagine. So if even he got in on it..."

Serena smiled, both at the mental image and at the happiness the two probably shared up in Sinnoh.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Some things never changed, and Brock was one of them. He did smile when the video switched on, but opening his eyes? Nope. "It's good to see you again, Max," the Gym Leader said, standing behind an empty chair. "Evan's on the toilet, so we've got a bit." He scrutinised Max a bit more closely. "Finally growing a bit?"

"Dunno. Still about the same height as gardevoir, still way shorter than Danny over here."

"Well, _he_ was nearly as tall as I am back in February," Brock said soothingly. "Anyway, your cousin won. With some tricks you had nothing to do with, I'm sure."

"Guilty as charged," Danny said from behind Max, proud of it. "Who'd he end up using?"

Before Brock could answer, Evan popped into view, grinning, even wider when he saw Max and Danny. "My eighth badge!" he said, holding his newly earned badge up to the camera to the point it blocked out the bottom half. "So now I'm all ready to watch you." He cocked his head. "How come you lost?"

"One part being distracted, one part terrible match-up, three parts stupidity," Max said honestly. "I got her back. And I know, Brock," he added quickly. "She was gloating about us not having a home and about easily beating me."

"You're at least growing up in temper," Brock said, and Max detected a hint of warning in it. "Keep an eye on him and call me if he does more of that. I've got a few tricks."

"Will do," Danny said cheerily.

Max didn't even bother turning around to glare. It was understood anyway, and he spent the time setting up the transfer to the other Center. "Is this payback for all _those_ times?"

There was no misunderstanding that by Brock, but the adult didn't let it affect him. Outwardly. Brock always was the most level-headed of them. Outside of romance. "You know as well as I do that teenagers do stupid things, Max. Try to keep the stupid to something you won't regret later." He leant forward, releasing gardevoir and appraising the Pokémon quickly. "You've taken good care of your gardevoir. And he of you, no doubt."

"It's definitely mutual," Danny chimed in. "The two are made for each other."

"I had thought that you wouldn't go for one after..." Brock said, before being interrupted by something. Max would bet a good bit of money it was gardevoir revealing the relation between ralts and himself. "You know, that explains a lot."

"The only one Max'd go for. Except in like ten years when he's a Gym Leader and wants to train up some weaker Pokémon for the early challenges."

"Thinking about becoming a Gym Leader?" The Pewter Gym Leader seemed surprised, before shaking his head. "We'll talk later. Right now, I think you need to get back to Silver Town."

There was a small pause as Brock shook hands with Evan in goodbye, and then gardevoir returned to the Indigo Plateau, Friend Ball and pre-teen in tow. "Cheers Brock. Say hi to your family for me."

That would happen, and the call ended, with Evan dutifully handing over the pokéball a moment later. Gardevoir returned himself as well. "Why wouldn't he take us back to Silver Town?"

One ball was pressed onto the belt, and Max started walking, prompting the other two to follow. "Because people don't know I have one,' he explained, and he didn't need to turn around to know that Evan didn't follow. "All our match results are easy to find on the Silver Conference website. And it lists Pokémon we used before, in Kalos and Hoenn."

"Except they don't reveal some things," Danny chimed in as the automatic door opened for them. A wall of humid heat assaulted them; the contrast with the air conditioned Pokémon Center harsh. "Aron went all the way to aggron in Kalos. Until I revealed that, my profile said I had an aron."

Max remembered something he'd heard offhand, back in December at the Professor's. "They used to have access to all the Pokémon registered to someone, but people complained. So now it's just Pokémon you've used. And with how powerful he is…"

"A secret weapon?" Evan filled the deliberate pause. "Huh. Sure as shit hadn't thought of that."

"And now you know," Max said as he saw what he was looking for. "You want something to eat before we go?" he asked, stopping and pointing at the comparatively short queue. "It's going to be a lot busier in Silver Town."

Predictably, Evan wanted to gorge himself on food first, explaining exactly how he had defeated Brock while waiting and between bites. Only getting sauce over his clothing stopped his wide gesturing, much to the amusement of the two older boys, and that only increased when the pre-teen scowled at them.

 **~~§~~§~~**

His cousin had gone for some training, leaving Evan with someone he barely knew, but who had been hanging around the older teenagers for a bit. He'd caught the name – Chris – where he was from – some place near Olivine, the exact name forgotten already – and that he had eight Pokémon, six of which were Psychic-types in one form or another.

"Max said you and I had a lot in common," Chris said, curls falling in front of his face as he tried to look over the crowd. It didn't work. "You like Psychic-types too?"

Evan laughed at the idea. "Nah," he said, and Chris looked confused. "I have Dark-types. A lot of them."

That got him a smile. "Dark-types are cool too. My sister likes 'em," Chris replied. "Which ones you have?"

"Poochyena, stunky, and pawniard are in the Center," Evan started, not able to keep the pride out of his voice, and the Johtoan teenager nodded in understanding. "Then there's murkrow, houndour, and absol. And a butterfree and tentacool."

"Absol?" Chris said, clearly excited. "Oh man, aren't they really rare and hard to catch? Where'd you get one? And isn't pawniard from Unova?"

Evan sat down on the stone barrier between path and grass nearby, and Chris followed. "An old man in Pewter wanted a jigglypuff for his granddaughter. He couldn't get one, so I went out to catch one. Took me three tries in two days. Bloody Fairy kept Singing me to sleep."

"How'd you catch one then?"

"Taste of its own medicine," Evan replied, standing up a little more straight and smirking. "Spotted one from far away, sent butterfree over for Sleep Powder. Didn't stand a fucking chance. Got back to Pewter, traded for pawniard a week ago, and got a badge today. Not bad, huh. And I'm only twelve-and-seven-months."

"No way. You look my age."

"How old are you, then?" Evan asked, taking a better look at his companion. He looked just like most of his classmates had at the end of last year: round face, smooth skin except for something that looked like he'd scratched open… Not even a hint of voice cracking. Honestly, Evan could believe it if Chris was around his age. _Max_ had looked older at Uncle Norman and Aunt Caroline's anniversary, and Evan had an inch on him now.

Which made the answer a surprise. "Nearly thirteen and a half," Chris admitted, a hand in his hair. "Don't look it, I know. Everyone says that. Danny and Max got fooled by it too. Makes all my aunts want to hug me every time," he added.

Evan wasn't sure if Chris disliked it as much as he implied. Or maybe that was him spending too much time with his bloody cousin who thought about everything twice. "That's what aunts do. And most of them have disgusting perfume." Stunky smelled better than those.

"Lugia, they do. _Ugh._ "

Something came over the announcer system – something about some toddler ending up lost. "Which Pokémon ya got?" Evan asked once he could hear himself again, standing up to find a better spot to sit at.

Right underneath the loudspeakers had been a fucking stupid idea.

"Staryu – that's my starter," Chris replied. "Drowzee, butterfree, girafarig, mime jr, natu, stantler, and spoink. Only caught that last week. Oh, and I guess machoke counts for half."

"Half?" Evan echoed. "How's that work?"

The reply had to wait because they had to weave around a large group of people taking pictures or something. "I caught machop and he evolved, but then my Dad broke his leg badly. Really badly," Chris emphasised. "Went back home, but Mum didn't want me around after a few weeks. She couldn't do everything that Dad did, though, so I left machoke to help out."

The thought of Chris having a machoke alongside all the Psychic-types was strange. But it was a cool thing to do. Family was important, Evan knew. "What's he helping with?"

"A _lot_ of things. Dad did a lot of wood working at home, so machoke helps him with putting things together, carrying the wood… It's not heavy stuff, but Dad can't stay standing for too long." Both of them heard some commotion to their right, and they turned to see a pretty big crowd and a sign stating there was a magician. "Oh, cool! Let's go watch!"

 **~~§~~§~~**

"Leave us," he commanded the staff that remained in his office. As one, they did, the ornate wooden door closing loudly behind them. "What is our status on Genesis?"

The man opposite: of his age, but tending towards bulk and muscles over lean sinew, spread his hands, palms up. "The largest hurdle has been cleared. Heard it straight from the wordsmith himself. Insertion and extraction has been arranged, and ongoing tests will allow us to make sure what the range is for a standard team with disruptor."

That was good news. "You maintain that the target is going to be within the reach of a standard team?"

"Provided the disruptor does its work, yes," was the confident answer. "We are mulling over expanding the team to deal with the protectors."

Of course they would. The former agent for one of Hoenn's intelligence services would be cautious about facing Pokémon such as those they were likely to encounter. And if the reports on the relationship between the targets and its protectors were right, then they were going to be dangerous to go up against. "The marginal cost of taking more is minimal." One hand tapped two fingers on the oaken desk. "But stealth becomes harder to maintain with every addition. Especially as your people will be moving against the flow."

"We can send out agents ahead of time. If done within the next few days, they will move with the flow once the Conference is over."

That idea had merit. "Acceded. Though I would not take more than double you originally proposed."

"Two for each, plus me."

That would do it. Though the personal involvement was peculiar. "Why expose yourself?"

"The amount of firepower we need to take necessitates tactical thinkers. I am one of the best strategical thinkers to complement them."

Put like that, and knowing that the man opposite him would be in control of the extraction Pokémon, it was enough to make him concede the point yet again. "I need not mention that being caught could undo most of what we have gained so far."

"The risk is worth the reward," was the expected answer. It was the man's motto; another legacy of his previous occupation before sliding into politics. "I shall come back before recess to finalise details."

The guest rose as the office's occupant remained seated for a moment longer, causing some hesitation. "Move agents in fast. With Drake soon to pass away, there will be a moment in which the eye of the dragon is not roving across his domain."

A silent nod and Raphael left, leaving only the Prime Minister of Hoenn in his office, and his hand drifted to the secret compartment in his desk; the one few knew about. With them, he could weather any storm.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Wiping sweat from his brow, Danny was glad he'd bought the cloth bands to put around his wrists. The humid heat that had settled on Silver Town was terrible, and with Danny's match being around noon, it was late enough that the sun was out in full force, causing copious amounts of sweat to pour off of nearly everyone. It had been just bearable for Max's match five slots earlier, which was just as well for piloswine. Still, the well-insulated Pokémon had come off decidedly better than any of the opponents, which had been overwhelmed by exploding ice and ninjask playing blink-and-you'll-get-hit.

The poor sudowoodo hadn't got a single hit in all match.

Now, however, anyone sending out a Water-type or an Ice-type was at best handicapping themselves, and at worst hurting their Pokémon in the process. It was one of the reasons Danny was actually okay sending out litwick for this: the conditions perfect for creating heat shimmers that would cause just a bit of extra inaccuracy.

Adding gulpin was a case of checking the opponent's data and spotting that there he preferred more commonly trained types. A bunch of flyers, four Grass-types, and no Ground-types at all. Let alone more exotic things like Psychic or Steel-types. Sean seemed to be a fairly normal Trainer, and there was nothing wrong with that.

The machoke was new, and a small surprise, but not something that scared Danny anything. They learned Foresight, but had to get in close. Generally. Some of them knew Earthquake, and with a fearow on the field as well, that was a threat, but one that could be dealt with.

Litwick was pretty good at ensnaring the minds of others. As he did the moment the battle started.

Machoke was frozen by the enhanced Will-O-Wisp, and in the moments that it took the Fighting-type to lull itself out of the enchantment, a perfectly aimed globe of Sludge splashed upon its face. Some of it probably got in, if the spitting was any indication, but there was something else afoot. "Trick Room."

And the Fearow slid to a sudden halt; the momentum switch _hell_ on its muscles. In the moments that it took to adjust itself to the exertion inversion field, litwick had started to build up a Fire Spin, with gulpin taking careful aim from just outside the field.

Fearow tried to go fast, but Trick Room dropped, leaving the bird a sitting duck for the attacks that were coming its way.

The Yawn connected first, before the Fire Spin came in to roast, and everyone else redirected their attention to machoke.

Who apparently knew Flamethrower. Gulpin felt a lick or two of flame; time the Fighting-type used to rush over the floor, and faint yellow flashes were visible as it did so. Thunderpunch, then. "Roll and distract."

Will-O-Wisp did the distracting, this time going in for a burn to stop the charging Fighting-type from chasing the moving gulpin as he rolled away, to the other end of the field.

Red washed over the arena, a Foresight connecting the cost of litwick pushing out a Confuse Ray in the direction of the fearow. Fire Spin had ended, and the fearow looked sizzled, but awake. Once the Ghost-type energy connected, it vaulted onto the ground, struggling to control unwilling wings.

Litwick's plan of stopping the machoke with a curtain of fire didn't work, though, and the muscular blue Pokémon tore through it, punching litwick hard with a regular fist, no attacks involved.

Danny's Ghost-type flew back at least twenty feet, landing roughly, but then gulpin came in, forcing the machoke to stop lest the surprisingly rapid Poison-type bowl it over.

But with that strike averted, there was a spare available in the form of a fearow that had just managed to shake off confusion and immediately got hit in the clawed feet by the Rollout move. Gulpin got entangled in the legs, ending the attack, but fearow went down with him, and in close quarters like that, the round green Pokémon did what came naturally, as blue-green flickered in the corner of Danny's eye.

One application of Poison Gas later, and the brown-ish Pokémon was hacking its lungs out. A wing did connect with gulpin, but that hit wasn't even bad. The Stomach Pokémon was fully clear of the fearow now, and without further ado, he started moving to the other fight going on.

Litwick was pretty close to being hit, having to Trick Room just to avoid a heavy punch by a foot or so, and after two applications on it, machoke probably was prepared for it, eager to assert its dominance in the one-on-one.

Too bad that Danny never intended on fighting like that. He saw gulpin ready a Sludge shot, and the path to knocking the brawler out became clear. "Split!" he ordered, swiping a wrist across his forehead.

Even as the Thunderpunch connected, tendrils of red flashed, chasing after the flying Ghost-type as he flew across the field. Machoke staggered, muscles suddenly not as willing as they had been before, and a cheap shot Sludge connected in the back of the knees, forcing it to the ground, a grunt visible in the way it exhaled.

Gulpin turned his attention to the fearow – who had finally made it back into the air, bruised, battered, and probably poisoned. It was looking for an attack run on the Poison-type, though, and Danny's Pokémon knew just how to prepare for that.

It didn't work the same as against ninjask: the heavier weight of the fearow making it a lot more resistant to the Yawn, but one Drill Peck was okay to take if it meant that Sean's Pokémon would end up grounded again, and gulpin could take it.

Meanwhile, machoke was returned after a Fire Spin knocked it out in the background.

Not to be outdone, gulpin started another Rollout, but before he could connect with the bird that was doing its best Evan-before-ten-am impression, Danny's opponent returned the Flying-type, forfeiting the match.

"Holy hell," the older teenager – fifteen, but otherwise of similar height and build to Danny – said as they met on the side; the audience giving them a berth to meet up. "So many tricks to stop my Pokémon. Man, that was tough. And they said you like defending."

Danny smiled, accepting the implied compliment. "Defending isn't waiting and taking punches. It's also diverting, countering, and choosing your battles," he said. "Machoke and fearow will take out litwick fast if they connect too much. But when you can take half of your team out for a few moments every time… It adds up. Who's your opponent now?"

"Rematch. Was a tough battle yesterday, but I'm not out yet," Sean said, combative words ruined by the need to wipe sweat out of his eyes. Danny had done that earlier, and dumped half a bottle of water on his head too. "What was that trick at the start? It looked like Will-O-Wisp, but machoke froze?"

"A litwick trick." At least, that's what their checking had found out. Other Pokémon that learned both Confuse Ray and Will-O-Wisp could do it, but half the time it was talked about, it was the litwick line. Surprisingly, though, the forest in Johto didn't show up at all in there as far as they had seen. "There's a bit of Confuse Ray in there and somehow it ends up entrancing the opponent."

"Huh. Gotta check that out," Sean said, before holding out his hand. "Good battle though. Good luck in the next round!"

Danny wished him the same and started to look around for the others. He found only two of them. "Max went off to get lunch?" he asked as Evan and Chris joined him. They immediately started moving in the direction of the food court. "Or ice cream? Could do with that for lunch."

"That sounds great," Chris said, clearly already imagining it. "Anything to cool down. It's stupid warm."

"Shouldn't have worn a dark shirt, doofus," Evan shot back, proving to Danny that he'd accepted the Johtoan as a friend. "You maybe shoulda, Danny."

The wet patches in the armpits were pretty sizeable, and there was water near the collar from the bottle earlier. "We're all trainers here, and I don't have sleeveless stuff." It was the first time he'd had this happen too, but the day was shattering heat records and he was a growing teen. "You'll get this soon enough."

"Growing up sometimes fucking sucks."

"But showers feel better when it's this warm," Chris chimed in, and the two younger Trainers quibbled as the trio searched for and found Max, who had lunch and transportation to a cooler place – the nearby forest, where a lot of the sun was blocked by leaf cover – ready for all of them.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Gary found himself reluctantly impressed with the interior of the Prism Tower. A Gym Arena on one of the lower floors, living quarters, and a relaxation room two floors up from that, and observation platforms open to the public above those. Very efficient use of space, and that still left one floor unaccounted for – the one that they were descending to. "Lemme guess. Workshop?"

"Workshop and bathroom," the teenage Gym Leader corrected as the lift stopped. "Guess it was kinda obvious."

Not everyone got himself in various robotics magazines by the age of fifteen. Gary had done a little reading on Clemont, especially after the request to go here had come in through high-up channels. "And we're not overheard here?"

A grey Pokémon emerged from the clutter, hovering in place. "Been having magnezone sweep for devices every day," Clemont answered, taking the lead to a far corner of the space. "Diantha told me how sensitive this could be." He stopped at something that wouldn't look out of place in a kitchen, except it was too big to be a food processor, coming up to Gary's midriff. "I've had this running for about an hour now. Adjusted the range so that it'll only make Water Pokémon directly below us look around for some awkward noise, but couldn't do it lower than that. Energy conversion lower boundaries, probably." He pressed a switch, and soft whirring that Gary hadn't really noticed stopped. "Let's see."

As the Gym Leader took care to take out the Gem with a pair of tongs, Gary took a wooden box from an inner pocket. Within it a Psychic Gem lay, cracked and inert, faded and fragile-looking. Luckily, it hadn't been used up enough to start disintegrating yet, but it was close.

And what he saw in the blue Water Gem was the early stages of something similar. The pattern of hairline fractures, the slight fog to the normal vibrant deep blue… "That looks similar," he remarked.

"Yeah, very similar," Clemont agreed softly, seemingly understanding fully what this meant. "And I'm willing to bet turning the effect up would lead to my Gem looking like yours. What did that one do again?"

"Probably disable Psychic-type Pokémon for some duration," Gary answered evasively, thinking if he could trust the Gym Leader with a bit more knowledge, but opting against it. "I was warned to not send out any of them within range of the machine."

"You know more than you're saying," Clemont observed sharply as he put the Gem and tongs down, before sitting down on the floor. Gary stayed put for a moment longer, then joined. "A machine like this can't control Pokémon like in Hoenn. You need something to amplify the signal. Which is harder than you think."

"Spare me the details," Gary replied, but then he paused. "Actually… How would you amplify it? Is there some kind of trick to it?"

The light in the other teenager's eyes told him that the Gym Leader didn't often have the chance to talk science. "Think of the signal as just a sound. There's a range to the signal and you can't hear it from far away because it'll be too soft. But at its base level, sound has a couple of properties that you can change," Clemont started explaining. "You can modulate the amplitude and the frequency. Or as people generally know it: AM and FM. Radio signals."

"Radio signals." There was something that nagged at his brain, which Gary filed away for later. Something he had read tangentially. "Wouldn't they be noticed? Because they'd get in the way of radio stations?"

The shake was answer enough. "Radio stations don't use all of the bandwidth. They can sneak in around the sides. Or entirely off the band. That's why it's harder. Can't just slap an antenna onto a machine and it'll become more powerful. Unlike what some people think."

"So it's undetectable?"

"No," Clemont answered. "Just need to create something that picks up on radio waves off the regular beaten path. That's a bit out of my expertise, though."

Gramps probably would know someone more suited for it, and honestly, the amount of relevant information that had come Gary's way in the last two minutes had been immense already; well worth the trip to Kalos in the first place. And probably more important than the conference he was ostensibly here for anyway. "Can't be an expert on everything," he said, shrugging. "If you had a guess which kind of radio signal they would use, what would it be?"

"For what's going on? AM signals have a long range, but are easily disrupted by something like a thunderstorm. Or powerful Electric-types. And the range comes at the cost of signal strength in the first place," Clemont said, shrugging as well. "Can't say for sure, but FM sounds a lot more likely to me."

And if Gary read between the lines, also harder to disrupt. Logical, but annoying nevertheless. He preferred incompetence in enemies. "You got me convinced alright. And thanks for telling me. I know it's..."

"It's far away," Clemont interjected, unease written over his face. "Kalos owes Hoenn a debt. Or four teenagers, maybe. And I count two of them as my friends."

The unsaid was clear as day. The blond seemed pretty introverted, and while Gary knew there wasn't enough common ground for the two of them to become friends in a few meetings, he could see the two teenagers from Petalburg getting on with Clemont like a Gym on fire. "I know they're using the Oak Lab as intermediary stop for letters," he said, deciding to leave it at that. "And thanks for all the information. If you have more of it..."

"I'll tell Diantha," Clemont answered. "Was that all?"

"Just the battle," Gary replied, smirking and being thoroughly unsurprised by the visible shift in emotions of the overall-wearing Gym Leader, who went from nerdy insecure teen to veteran Trainer in nought point three. "Gotta keep my Pokémon in shape somehow."

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _Following public disagreement with the government and mediation by politicians and Terry of the Elite Four, Phoebe, Master Ghost-type Trainer, today announced that she would stand down as a member of Hoenn's Elite Four effective immediately. In her brief statement, she cited irreconcilable differences of opinion on how the government has been dealing with the ongoing Pokémon attacks._

* * *

 **Author's Note:** And we're back, with some business as usual. Some League stuff, some other stuff, and slowly getting the band all together for a nice party. Also including the obligatory League!Friend, because what is a League without one.


	26. Brothers And Sisters

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 25: Brothers And Sisters**

After an instant trip from the Indigo Plateau to Silver Town, a quick drop-off of her stuff into her room – featuring a thankfully clothed Evan, though Max's cousin didn't look very happy to be up – and a quick discussion about who was going to pay for the extra costs that had been part of Evan having a two-bed room for two days, it was back to familiar ground for Serena. Just her, Danny, and Max, looking for a good place to have lunch.

She resolved to pay for the three of them, if the other two would let her.

"Y'know," Danny said after peeking in another window and seeing the same as they had seen three times before: a completely full restaurant. "How about we use xatu another time and go have lunch elsewhere. Will be faster."

Ten seconds later, it was blissfully silent as the din of the Conference faded away to a rural Johto town. For a moment, anyway: then a young child started a shout for their Mum, but it was still a lot easier on the ears than it had been. "Where are we?" Serena asked as Danny walked up to the kid – a boy, judging by the hair – and his mother to talk about them just appearing like that.

"Enion," Max replied. "Next big town over. Even has a Contest," he added cheekily, grinning at her. "We passed through here twice and stayed a few days." He returned xatu with whispered thanks. "Best place I could think of and not stress xatu too much."

Serena took a look around, spotting two small restaurants on the square, but only one was open. "And you don't mind the quiet yourself, right?"

"Guilty." Danny returned, and they started walking. "Not being accosted for autographs is a good thing."

"Autographs? Here?" Serena was confused. They hadn't saved Johto when she wasn't looking, she was pretty sure. "Because you're famous Trainers?"

"Right in one," Danny confirmed it as they sat down at one of the outdoor tables, out of the stupidly warm sun. They weren't the only ones, but not even a quarter of the tables were occupied. "A bit more because of our family – a lot of them are from Hoenn, and they don't care about what the government said about us – but Kalos helps. Both ways."

"We did an interview too," Max added, to Serena's surprise. "One of the Joys tipped us off. Same reason as in Kalos, really. An ounce of prevention and all that. Still don't get some of the questions, though."

"We're fourteen and travelled with a girl last year," Danny replied, but he seemed unconvinced as well. "And Keith and Jane are our friends. At least they didn't ask if, y'know..."

What? Just what? "They asked what now?" Serena said, nearly spluttering but managing not to. Barely.

"If we were thinking about girlfriends," Max said, looking about as comfortable as Serena felt. "They stopped short of asking if one of us was your boyfriend, but that's about it. And it only got a throw-away line in the write-up."

The words put the briefest thought of either boy and her _like that_ in her mind, before she stopped that train of thought. "Er, don't take this the wrong way, but no."

"Yeah, that." Max took his glasses off to rub his eyes. "And can we talk about something else now? I'd almost rather talk about yveltal in front of an audience."

The other teenagers seconded that, and thankfully, the waiter returned to ask for their lunch choices, bringing water along. Danny and Max went for entirely different things, with the older teen ordering a large lunch and the younger one that could be eaten faster.

Serena felt like seafood, and so she ordered some of that. "Is that going to be enough for you, Max?" she asked.

"He'll steal some of mine. 'swhat he tends to do," Danny said, holding up a hand and grabbing Max's wrist mid-poke. Or stomp. "Can't expect me to not tell her your secrets."

It felt a bit like an old argument, prompting her lips to tug upwards a bit. "Looks like he's still got your number, Max," she said as the sun dimmed from some wispy clouds passing. "Where are you two going next?"

"Unova, without him," Max deadpanned.

"I thought you preferred Prudan?"

"Eh, same difference."

Danny conceded the point, not that Serena thought it mattered. "Max thinks we'll get invited to the Battle Frontier if we don't drop out right now, and he's convincing enough about that." He ran a hand through his hair, making it even more messy. "But even if we don't, Kanto sounds good. Maybe the Orange Islands too. Ash went around in like four months there."

"And I owe Danny going to Kanto at least," Max added. "I wanted to go to Kalos and Johto. Danny wanted Sinnoh and Kanto, but I kinda wore him down." He gulped down half his glass of water. "Where are you going?"

"Johto. The schedule just works out," Serena explained automatically, before realising that they – or Max at least – would probably know that. "Could maybe do Sinnoh, but it'd be close and cold." And even though she hadn't minded the cold snaps in Kanto that much because her knee had been healed, Sinnoh winters were a lot worse and lasted a lot longer to boot. "And it'll be fun to see how Kanto and Johto are different."

Max wanted to reply to that, but some movement from Danny underneath the table stopped that. "And what about your Mum?"

"Already thought of. I'm just going home in December for like three weeks." An idea started to form in her mind, but she stopped herself from mentioning it. "And honestly, going home right now just means getting to help with riding training all the time."

"Because of the holidays?"

"Yeah," Serena confirmed Max's guess. "And most of Kalos goes on holiday in the first half of them if they do, so right now is when everyone can get to camps and stuff like that. I think Mum's home less than a week this month."

"There's not a lot of month left by the time the Conference is over," Danny pointed out as a toddler screamed across the square in pain. Serena craned her head to find out what was going on, seeing a father kneel on the other side. "But yeah, if you don't want to do that..."

Serena shrugged. "This is more fun. And I'm pretty sure Mum agrees, but you know how mothers a..."

They noticed her sudden stop, and not for the first time she cursed their perceptiveness. Other boys she'd talked to – even if there weren't a lot in the Contest circuit – wouldn't have noticed her mistake at all. But they did, and they didn't care. "Some of them," Max said. "Evan's Mum really doesn't like him being here with Dark-types."

"Evan never said anything about that."

"No," Max agreed with Danny. "But it's always his Dad that writes, and the first couple were all like 'your mother says to be careful' and stuff like that." The blue-haired boy made a 'what can you do' face. "I'm pretty sure he's going to have to leave most of his Dark-types at the Professor's if he goes back home for Yule."

"If?" Danny asked, and Serena didn't follow for a second. "You're not sure he would?"

"No. And he'd regret it too," Max answered. "But that's Evan for ya. Talks tough, but is still twelve."

 **~~§~~§~~**

Danny resisted the urge to scratch at the partially healed cut under his nose, instead running a finger over the _other_ cut that he'd sustained that morning, currently hidden behind a small plaster.

He looked a right fool on the television, probably, but it wasn't like he was the only one. His opponent, he'd noticed, also had the same tell-tale marks of shaving gone wrong over his face.

At least Max hadn't teased him about it. More than usual, that was – a raised eyebrow and a quirk of his lips did happen. Chris and Evan had been louder about it, which had prompted Danny to give them a little horror story of what could go wrong if you didn't pay attention while shaving.

Somehow, the older he got, the more he started liking his Dad's theatrics.

The referee called for both of them to release their first Pokémon. Drapion met a Unovan Pokémon that Danny recognised. From earlier in the tournament, in fact – he'd noticed a shiny klang in a fight he'd watched in the preliminaries, and unless there were two, this was probably the same one.

Drapion could deal with that. He wasn't the most agile, but he could Dig to avoid some of the heavy attacks that the genderless Pokémon could throw out.

Even then, opening with a Zap Cannon? That was ballsy, and a statement of intent right from the get-go from Erik. It did nothing except throw up a ton of dust that…

That then were repurposed into a vicious Sandstorm that blocked Danny's sight of the other half of the arena completely.

"Always the weather effects," Danny muttered, loud enough for the microphone to pick up and transmit to the audience. That'd get some of them laughing, probably.

Drapion was still visible, but only barely so. The Protect he threw up stood out vividly, though, as did the orange that enveloped it, washing over the shield and disrupting the entire sandstorm with sheer power.

He'd have to thank Max for the idea of twisting Protect to be a bit more deflecting instead of pure shielding. The Hyper Beam had been diverted just enough that the Protect held easily, and with a location now roughly known, drapion surged forwards, extending his rear stinger, finding the bronze klang and throwing it over his head, onto Danny's half of the field, even as drapion himself dug into the ground.

The Dig missed, but the Pin Missile did not, since drapion came out behind klang and was plain faster at launching the attack, which the Steel-type weathered as it flew back to Erik's half of the field, which was now mostly visible, with a slight brownish tint and general heat haze. "Well countered. Advance, be ready to Dig."

Even if Danny hadn't caught the earlier battles, Zap Cannon was a dead give-away that the klang would know Lock On. It wasn't used, but the Mirror Shot was woefully off-target as drapion skittered forward faster than a Pokémon his size and weight had any right to. All the attack did was to annoy Danny, but he knew his Pokémon could handle himself.

Another grey attack shot out, and this time, drapion took it straight on, tanking through it to wrestle the klang to the ground, and claws went to work. Klang was grabbed by the smaller gear, flung overhead and slammed into the ground, which left it dazed, Danny thought. The electricity that had sparked for just a moment flickered out for sure. "As much as you can."

Erik was probably shouting for klang to get out of the vice-like grip that drapion was exerting, but that wasn't possible. They were known for having some of the stronger grips of any Pokémon, being able to crush some kinds of metal if the situation asked for it. One claw held it to the ground, the other touched the ground itself – a grounding trick against electricity that helped a bit – and a Pin Missile was followed by the scorpion-like Pokémon delivering a solid Night Slash and a throw to the side – straight into the shielding.

Miltank was up next, with Erik sending the traditional Johto Pokémon out almost immediately. The cow hit the ground rolling – literally, and Danny grinned as he remembered the trick that they'd used against Whitney.

Sure, that had been Mega aggron, but the principle was similar, and that miltank was way stronger than this one, probably.

"Catch her."

The pink Pokémon picked up speed, narrowly avoiding drapion's lunge the first time he tried to grab her. The second attempt was a miss as well as she showed good control over her roll and adjusting her path in a way that Danny hadn't thought possible. It left his Pokémon completely off-balance, and only the turning radius was the reason there was no flying Pokémon.

Third time was the charm, though. Even if the miltank had a lot of momentum behind her by now, and was seemingly alright with hitting the prepared drapion, Danny's Pokémon had dug himself into the ground, making sure he wasn't sent flying. Instead, both of them went tumbling, miltank along for the ride and loudly disagreeing about it, and most importantly, ending up underneath drapion.

And from that position, it was an all-out scrap for dominance. Drapion led with an injection of poison through his claws, while miltank tried to Ice Punch her way free. Both connected, but neither seemed to care. A Stomp hit drapion in the midriff afterwards, and he lurched down, a Poison Fang barely connecting in the movement.

Miltank tried to throw drapion off with a heave, but a Night Slash from the tail stinger hit her right near her own tail, prompting a deep moo of pain and anger, and a vague red aura surrounded her. "Move away!"

The Bide was a short one, but a surprising amount of energy shot after drapion as he skittered across the field, circling miltank to interrupt a Rollout restarting. Poison, probably.

Just as Danny was about to order a change in strategy, miltank jumped up, all of the hooves glowing white and aiming downward. "Jump!"

The Earthquake lasted too long to dodge in its entirety, but drapion avoided the worst of it with the jump. Unfortunately, it also left him wide open for the follow-up, which was another Ice Punch that caused slight amounts of trace ice to appear on drapion's chest plates – before the sun melted them anyway.

The retaliation was a simple headbutt, which left both of them dazed for a moment; recovery coming slow to both, but simultaneous as a Night Slash and an Ice Punch clashed; claw knocking hoof just off course.

Erik's Pokémon dropped to the ground, turning around on her back and delivering a solid kick to drapion's exposed lower chest – the Night Slash having dropped his guard – and she followed it up by starting to spin even faster.

Not Rollout – this was Gyro Ball – the axis she was turning around giving it away. It couldn't be good for her, but drapion was too close to not be hit, and he was sent flying left by the attack, where he didn't stick the landing, which caused miltank to cry triumphantly, jumping into the air for another Earthquake.

"Protect!"

The Protect held under the tremors, which wrecked most of the field nearby, but left drapion relatively unscathed. He still didn't look good, and he struggled to get up from his curled-up position, but miltank was pretty badly off herself, heaving visibly as the poison was just wreaking havoc on her system. They had good stamina and recuperative abilities, but that was useless against the slow burn of toxins.

Still, the cow lunged forward, more steadily than Danny was expecting, with another Ice Punch, and drapion brought up his own Night Slash-infused claws. One blocked, the other connected, and both Pokémon cried out in pain as they hit each other.

"Double knock-out," the referee declared, even as miltank flopped over in a futile attempt to get up. "Both Trainers will send out their final Pokémon at the same time."

"Well done drapion," Danny told his burly Poison-type as red energy zipped back into the pokéball. "This one's on you."

He took a moment to remember what Erik had used so far and what was in his arsenal. The miltank suggested there was no Ground-type on the team, which would've been good for helioptile, but the Kalos Pokémon wasn't here.

It was also good for another Pokémon, and with the sun so brilliantly present, how could he resist.

It was bad sportsmanship to laugh or react to your opponent's Pokémon in a way that wasn't respectful, but just seeing the purple-pink musharna float around made Danny feel sorry for Erik, who had probably not expected the double Dark-type treatment.

And houndour had Flash Fire, too. Arceus, the deck was stacked against the Unovan trainer today.

The only thing that could be a factor was the copious amount of debris, and any kind of coverage moves that it had learned. Danny brought out his Pokédex to check those as musharna started – predictably – with pelting houndour. She crouched low to the ground, drawing on her experience as a predator and moving around quickly to the area that was relatively undamaged by the quakes of earlier.

Dazzling Gleam and Signal Beam could be a problem if they connected – they were neutrally typed – but the Charge Beam wasn't, Danny mused as houndour dodged one air-to-ground version of that with a fierce jump, accelerating once she hit the ground again, and looking to take a bite out of the Psychic-type.

Who floated away, predictably, hovering at a height Danny knew houndour could reach, but not easily.

There was more than one way to do this. "Flamethrower!"

The jet of flame was very easily turned around – too easily, in fact – but if their opponents noticed, they only did so after houndour managed to activate her own Flash Fire with the reflected attack, using the fire and heat to launch another Flamethrower – this one more potent than the previous one. It hurled through the air and…

Scorched a red-outlined and vanishing musharna? Say what now?

He caught the sight of the towel just before it landed. "And Erik has thrown in the towel, forfeiting the match! The winner is Danny Birch, from Petalburg."

This was slightly disappointing, but if musharna had nothing to deal with houndour… Danny could understand it. A bit.

 **~~§~~§~~**

The Pokémon Center was pretty empty, but that wasn't surprising. Shima was a standard fishing village that happened to have a Pokémon Contest once every two months. May had stayed there after winning her fourth Ribbon last weekend, wanting to train wartortle and relax on the beaches. Most other Trainers had already left, feeling the crunch of less than three months until the Grand Festival combined with ferries that only came twice a week.

It meant she had the lobby TV for herself, and she'd put it on the Johto Conference. Part of her was looking for strategies, but another part of her just wanted something else.

She wanted to see her brother again, even on the screen.

He looked… She didn't know. Puberty was slow for him, with his face only changed a bit – unlike Danny, who had clearly started shaving – and his height looking the same as November, give or take an inch. The way he went about the battle was also classic Max to some extent, with not a lot of talking and looking to force mistakes. Shelgon had done so pretty well into a jumpluff and a ludicolo, but Max's Dragon had exhausted himself in beating them.

But the easy smiles and grins were gone. And it wasn't just the scare that he'd had in the first round, May thought. People could change that fast, but only with the right push. That wasn't it.

His fleeing Hoenn had been. And something else.

" _He thought it was_ you _."_

Gary Oak's taunt echoed in her head, but Max sending out a deerling allowed her to focus on the TV. It went to his opponent, who seemed pleased at seeing a Grass-type Pokémon. May wasn't sure if it was because of the type – Christina had sent out a gloom for last, so she clearly liked them – or because of gloom having a good match-up into it.

The Acid was nowhere near deerling, of course, but that was just the opening salvo. A rainbow-coloured aura appeared, and the camera stuck with gloom as it unleashed the Dazzling Gleam.

Deerling blocked it with a just powerful enough Energy Ball that leeched off of the Grassy Terrain, and in the bright explosion, it vanished. "A deft block from Maple's deerling. But does it have any offensive moves good for a gloom's typing?"

"Of course," May muttered herself, uncaring if anyone heard her. She didn't know exactly what deerling could learn, but Max hadn't returned his Pokémon, meaning he had a plan. Even if that plan consisted of deerling kicking gloom about, as happened just as the light of the explosion faded.

That forced the blue Pokémon to start moving for itself, and it was faster than gloom generally waddled. The sun was very much out in Johto, and they were better in heavy sunlight. Deerling would still be able to move faster, but something like Synthesis would cause a lot of issues.

The Pokémon started exchanging attacks without too much effect. Deerling stuck to Energy Balls that slightly sped up the fading of the Grassy Terrain but wouldn't do much against a Grass-Poison Pokémon. Gloom, for her part, stuck with Acid after getting hit on the back of the Dazzling Gleam, but the sprays were far too slow.

It was easy to see how she'd gotten to the Round of 64 on the back of sun-helped Grass-types, but May was pretty sure her brother had this in the bag.

Deerling suddenly feinted left, moving in close and unleashing a couple of seeds at gloom, and it moved out of the way of… Leech Seed? Those didn't work.

Max's Pokémon bounded up, getting in close with gloom. "Christina's Pokémon reacts as its kind does when attacked," the commentator said as cameras caught deerling's body and hooves assault expertly. "But now Maple's order to hold your breath makes sense. Sharp thinking on his part, and now deerling moves away, and yes, it's taking a deep breath."

Gloom very much looked worse for the wear, its orange petals drooping and a close-up revealed a nasty hoof mark or two on the left side.

May saw the Pokémon's stance change in the close-up, and the first speck of light revealed the Synthesis.

But the camera switched back to the overview, and deerling – and Max – were prepared. "Now!" Max ordered sharply, and a sudden Shadow Ball shot out as the fawn turned on its hooves, chasing after the fast-moving orb that gloom couldn't dodge because it was concentrating on the Synthesis.

It hit low, sending up dirt and pebbles as well, and knocking gloom off its feet. Deerling leapt, and a vague brown glow surrounded it mid-air.

Then it landed. _Next_ to gloom. And the earth cracked underneath both Grass-types.

One of them was on its feet and could get away. The other couldn't, and gloom was stuck in the small crack. "Clever use of Nature Power, very localised, but with enough effect to immobilise gloom. And with their short ar – Christina has thrown in the towel! Maple wins this round of 64 battle, losing only one Pokémon!"

Max was surprised, May could tell, but he hid it quickly, instead waving at the audience and returning deerling as the schedule of the Conference popped up on the screen.

May turned away, standing up, stretching once, and heading for her room. She'd got what she wanted, which was to see her brother in good health and all that. It was all she could ask for.

It was all she was going to get.

 **~~§~~§~~**

The detention centre was bland. Alice had no other word for it. She'd been forced to give up all her Pokémon, and the guard that escorted her was kind, but also steely. He hadn't told her anything about Paul, saying that she'd see for herself in a moment, and he stopped in front of a heavy-set iron door. "Your brother's in here, and another guard too. We won't be too close, but we are watching. Got it?"

"Yea..." Alice said, swallowing, but not getting rid of her nerves. "How long d'I have?"

"As long as you need," the guard replied, and he crouched a bit, getting eye level with her. "Some kids who come here can't be saved, but your brother… He can. But he needs to work for it."

The door opened, and Alice entered first into the surprisingly large room. She made an effort to look around first despite immediately spotting what could only be her brother on a bench at the far end. Apart from seeing the other guard in a corner near the other door, there were only benches and a table.

He noticed her as she stepped across a weird line of tiles, getting up swiftly and turning around, freezing when he saw her.

Alice stopped in her tracks and the twins studied each other from thirty feet away. Even from that distance, she could tell Paul was… He looked horrible. His eyes laid hollow in their sockets, and the darkness underneath wasn't smudge – they were bags. His hair was shorter than she'd ever seen it, buzzed, and he looked old. Older than his fifteen. "Happy birthday."

"Happy birthday," Paul returned weakly, looking around. "I… I didn't think ya'd come."

"They didn't tell ya?" Alice asked, curious. "Had ta do a lot of talkin' to get here."

"Didn't believe 'em," her brother said, almost too soft to hear. "Don't… Why're you here? Las..."

Steeling herself, the newly fifteen year old girl took a few steps forward, getting a better look at her brother in the process. He was slouching a bit, and when she tried to meet his gaze, he looked away. "You hurt me, Paul," Alice said, focusing on not slipping into her accent because he would listen that way. She hoped. "You lied to me. You lied to our parents. And why? Because you got angry at trying to hurry through Kanto and losing."

"I..."

"I know you don't like some Pokémon," Alice interrupted her brother's stammering. "And… And that's fine. Can't like everything. But what I don't get is how ya ended up here in a detention centre in Johto!"

She yelled the last words, and she felt tension leave her body with them as she asked the question that had been on her mind for two months. She knew why some people were after Danny and Max, but how her brother got involved, she didn't know.

"Please, Paul, jus' tell me."

Keeping up the insistent glare was hard when tears leaked from your eyes, but Alice managed. If a bit of the old Paul was left…

He closed the distance, swinging weak arms around her in a hug, and he rested his head on hers. He smelled clean, _sanitised._ "I… I'm sorry, Alice. But I…"

She forced herself out of the familiar hug. "Why… Why not?"

"I… They'd _know_ ," her brother whispered, fearfully. "I already… I already said too much. They'd… They'd kill me."

What had he gotten himself mixed up in? And what had those two other teenagers not told her? Had they forgotten or had she not asked the right questions? "There… There's talk of tryin' you 's an adult, Paul," Alice told him. "Kidnappin' is serious, 'n you hurt them too."

"If you tell us everything you can," the guard that had escorted her broke in, and both of them jumped, not having heard the man approach at all. "We can cut a deal. Maybe one that won't be on your record."

"Y… Ya'do that?" Paul said, voice wavering. "But… Danny 'n Max? 'n the other boy?"

"Maybe your sister can convince them. Or your sister and someone else," was the quick addition as Alice let out a scoff. "Look at it this way. You get a chance to maybe get out of this… Pretty okay, all things considered. That's better than the alternative. But you have to tell us everything. Including telling us how you came in contact with the other two."

And even though she hadn't seen her brother in well over a year, Alice could tell Paul wanted to tell them, even if another part wanted to talk him out of that. "Paul… Think of wha' Ma 'n Da would be like."

"Your probation could be with them. Safe hard farming work. Young man like you, you'd do fine with that if you eat well." The guard took one step forward, halting instantly when Paul turned to look at him, confused, _afraid._ "Back in Hoenn, with your parents. Sounds good, right?"

Something burst inside Paul, Alice could tell, but the way he screwed up his face made her heart plummet. He'd decided. He wasn't going to… "That's where they'd kill me! And Ma 'n Da too!"

Her brother slumped and Alice felt numb.

What _had_ he gotten them into?

 **~~§~~§~~**

Max ran through his mental checklist. Clothes swapped out for something fresh – not that it'd stay like that for long, check. Pokénav that was now recharged instead of running on fumes, check. Wallet so he could pay for some dinner, check. A renewed round of sunscreen just in case, check. He was good to go.

Maybe it was a better idea to try and find a spot inside, he mused as he took the stairs down to the ground floor. Or at least get somewhere to properly sit and eat. Eating a boxed dinner was easy and always fun with the lot of them, but with the way Silver Town was laid out and the sun that had been beating on them for days now, even the ground was warm, dry, and uncomfortable to sit on. Let alone any stone parts or wooden benches – you could probably cook an egg on the pavement at midday anyway.

He entered the lobby, intent on making his way outside to grab some food – shelgon and deerling still with Nurse Joy, but nobody was going to try anything here – when a voice from the side stopped him. "Max Maple. My next opponent."

The voice was familiar, but nothing more – and Max hadn't checked the bracket yet to find out who his next opponent was anyway. Strategising was a late-night thing for them. He turned to his right, seeing a young adult walk up to him. A familiar young… "I know yo… Nicholas?" Max guessed; the blond hair his biggest reason.

"I should be honoured that you remember me," was the reply, alongside a smile that jogged Max's memory of a time he'd been nervous after finding out another opponent. "And do not think I did not notice the pronunciation of my name. Much more Kalosian."

The young adult – older teenager? How old had Nicholas been anyway? – waited patiently as Max tried to make sense of the situation. A part of him was glad that there was no immediate reference to Team Flare, nor had there been the almost hero worship that they'd had that one time back in Goldenrod.

That had been uncomfortable.

"Were you… Were you waiting for me?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Max realised it was a stupid question. There were multiple places Trainers could stay, and it wasn't like you could ask around where people were staying – that was confidential and all. "Non," the Kalosian answered, still smiling, tone suggesting he took no offence whatsoever. "Just my Pokémon being nearly healed," he added, and though the Kalosian accent wasn't as pronounced as Max's memory supplied, the peculiar way that some Kalosians pronounced the letter h was still present.

Serena'd never had that, for some reason, and Max shook his head. Accents were weird.

"Guess you got lucky, huh," the Hoenn-born said, taking a step forward to move out of the way of two girls chattering. "And I thought Kalos's system was pretty restrictive on extensions. Aren't you like eighteen?"

"You are correct. Close enough," Nicholas amended. "That is later this month. And I've been working at the Safari Zone here in Johto for money," he added, sounding happy about that. "A concept I cannot believe has not made it to Kalos." A 'tssk' of disapproval. "Excuse me for a moment."

The seventeen year old picked his Pokémon up, but Max doubted his own had been healed yet. It had only been half an hour, if that. "Was your fight difficult?"

"Fishing for information, I see," the blond observed, amusement clear. "It was harder for me, I think. Unless you swapped a Pokémon out or one didn't need healing." Another set of Trainers – a mixed group this time – passed by. "Shall we go outside? Before one of us is thrown to the ground."

The cool air felt good, but it was also very busy, and it'd only get worse as more people came in. Max kind of wanted to hear himself think and talk. "Sure. And I guess you counted pokéballs?"

"I did indeed." Doors slid open, and it wasn't as bad as Max had been expecting. Maybe he was getting used to it by now. "For someone like you, these early rounds must be easy."

"I lost my first battle here." He made sure to look at Nicholas's face, and though it still hurt to think of how stupid he had been, at least there was something good coming from it. "Toxic trick, bad match-up, well executed plan. I got her back."

"Oh?"

"She was…" Max started, trailing off when he realised Nicholas might not have heard. "She said some things that got me angry. Might have gone overboard a bit after that."

"Overboard? What is it you… Ah," was the reply when Max popped the clasps off his wristband, revealing the Mega Stone underneath and nearly blinding him in the process. "One of your mementos of beautiful Kalos. I admit, I could hardly believe it when I saw what happened." A hand on his shoulder steered Max to the side, so they didn't stop in the middle of everyone. "You must have heard this hundreds of times, but thank you."

He had, and it never had gotten any easier, faint blush included. Which prompted a chuckle from the older boy. "Huh?"

"Still you are the same as you once were," Nicholas replied cryptically. "You wanted to hide in Hoenn, and a world of experiences later, it is the same now. You are a strange Trainer, Max, and I should be honoured to face you tomorrow. Even if the result is known already."

"That's defeatist."

"A Trainer like myself, above average, but nothing more, against a rising star as you? No, Max, the result is not in doubt if you apply yourself." And everything told Max that this was okay by the teenager leaning against whatever building they were right next to. He hadn't seen. "So show me. And let us create beauty then, and a night of catching up now."

Despite the effusive praise, Max couldn't resist a grin himself. Nicholas reminded him of everything that he had come to love in Kalos: their vivid way of living their life if they had the chance. "Lemme call my friends and not tell them to worry."

"Afraid you would be accosted by reporters?"

"That has happened."

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _The Hoenn government is planning to expand its restrictions on various Pokémon types, insiders have claimed. The extent is unknown, with the coalition torn between those who would prefer a full ban and others who think an increase is enough, but the current legislation, put into place last October, that restricts the possession of Dark, Ghost, and Psychic-types looks to be replaced very soon regardless._

 _Attacks still terrorise the Hoenn region, and the government has been stuck trying to react ever since it came into power after the last election._

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Steadily proceeding in the tournament, and a look at some siblings (not) interacting.


	27. The Known Surprise

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 26: The Known Surprise**

After both of the Trainers had reached their boxes, they bowed to each other from across the field. It caused a few whispered comments around Danny, but most of them were appreciative, about how these youngsters were so polite to each other.

The risks of sitting in front of a bunch of pensioners, Danny supposed. It had been the only open spot anywhere near where he'd been, off buying some food for later.

It'd be a bit of a weird battle. Max had come to the Center late, after Serena, Evan, and Chris had already left, and he'd requested to go to the Ever Grande Conference website. Apparently, Nicholas – and that had been a weird call the day before, requiring explanation – had asked that they only use Pokémon that had been with them back in Hoenn.

Maybe it was a small disadvantage for Max in team depth, but he had told Danny that Nicholas knew perfectly what he was asking. And that the Kalosian expected to lose. He just wanted a good battle, and Max wanted to give him that.

The first of those Pokémon turned out to be a proud pyroar; mane luxurious and roar piercing, causing an involuntary shiver to run down Danny's spine. He appeared well cared for, and under the midday sun… Fire-types were very common this tournament for a reason, and Water-types were even less common than normal.

Clefairy wasn't the best from a Type perspective, but the amount of stupidity that the small Pokémon could pull from Metronome had always been impressive. Sometimes, it wasn't a positive, though – Danny vividly remembered the time she used Hyper Beam against dusclops.

A predictable few opening moves occurred; Flamethrower meeting Metronome that turned into a miniature deep grey tornado – a Twister dispersing the flame everywhere and causing cinders to drop onto the standard field. In its wake, pyroar broke into an easy lope, looking to get closer without falling victim to something that his opponent could throw at him.

A Gravity field clipped the lion, causing him to stumble, and clefairy followed it up with a set of Magical Leaf and a leap away. Flame incinerated most of the projectiles, but from Danny's side view, he saw a couple connect right onto pyroar's nose before the fire consumed them. The announcer missed it, saying something stupid about Magical Leaf being weak against the Fire-type.

Getting hit in a sensitive place was still going to hurt, and Max had enough tricks like that up his sleeve.

The Metronome that clefairy had gone into ended with a strange glimmer surrounding the chanting Pokémon. Danny didn't recognise it, but Max seemed to do so, telling her to be aggressive and move closer.

It invited a Flamethrower, but… Clefairy withstood it before doing some kind of Gravity trick to allow herself to jump on pyroar's back, from where Doubleslap and those razor-sharp nails were cause for Nicholas's Pokémon to start bucking like an enraged tauros. He did fling the Fairy-type off, but not before some slaps had connected, and clefairy easily stuck the landing. "Whatever that move was, it allowed clefairy to deliver a nasty-looking Doubleslap! And it hasn't worn off yet!"

The near-adult also didn't seem to know what the chant had caused, and he took a cautious approach, still going for the offence, but choosing to use Hyper Voice in case clefairy was now resistant to fire.

And Max capitalised immediately. A Disarming Voice disrupted the resonance of the Hyper Voice, and a second Hyper Voice caused pyroar to be locked into using that move or physical tackling and biting for a while as an Encore connected.

That clefairy didn't completely avoid the Normal-type move was fine – even a part of her plan. "That is some distance on there. Surely the Hyper Voice isn't that po— And clefairy is already using Metronome again!"

Yup, definitely part of her plan, but for the second time, it hit something Danny didn't know; as a flash of muted white surrounded clefairy first, and then pyroar as he charged towards her, skidding to a stop in surprise.

For some reason, the pink Pokémon looked different now, though. How, Danny couldn't put his finger on, nor could someone behind him as she asked about it.

"That'd be Entrainment," an old man said. "Makes yer Ability the same as yer opponent's. Got some uses with stuff like Flash Fire. Dunno if pyroar has tha'."

Danny did know – they didn't. And Max knew that too.

Clefairy traded a hit for a hit; using the Hyper Voice to create some distance while plinking away with pinpoint accurate Magical Leaves.

Despite the obvious strength of the pyroar, she seemed fine still, and though her back was now against the wall of shields over at Nicholas's box, she was still raring to go.

"Pyroar, Overheat!"

One of the most powerful Fire-type attacks known to Pokémon tore through the air; an incandescent beam of pure heat sparkling in the sunlight and bearing down on clefairy. The few Magical Leaves that she'd sent out were vaporised, and Danny leant forward to see if she would be able to get out in time…

There was movement, but then the shielding flared into life as it had to stop the fire from breaking through and burning the audience. It did so easily, but in that time, the audience couldn't really see what was going on; at least on Danny's side of the stadium. "Oh, if clefairy got hit by that, that could be lights out!"

Suddenly, pyroar shifted, barely avoiding one large rock coming his way before leaping straight into the second. Danny recognised those rocks – Ancient Power rocks – which meant that clefairy had been able to use her Gravity trick to hurl her out of the way without too much hurt. She did look a bit singed, he thought, but pyroar was the one whining on the ground; curled around a rock. "How on earth..." the same old lady that had asked about Entrainment exclaimed, and there was a murmur of agreement around them, and a brief discussion broke loose.

When it became clear that the announcer wasn't going to talk about it – instead preferring to narrate the Signal Beam that was barely stopped by a Flamethrower – Danny turned around in his seat, and he felt the plastic in his pocket shift. "Excuse me?" he said as an explosion sounded behind him – Hyper Voice and Disarming Voice, from the commentary. "I think I know what happened."

"And that would be?" the lady said, smiling at him; a grandmotherly air around her. The good kind, too.

"Clefairy can use her Gravity to change gravity's direction and strength. So she –"

Danny's words were interrupted by a roar of the crowd, and he saw why as soon as he turned around – another scarily beautiful Overheat burst forth, and this time, clefairy, who had closed in, was clipped, hurtling through the air, but not losing control of the flying Magical Leaves as she did – which would've been a sign that she'd be knocked out. Still, that had to hurt.

"So clefairy used Gravity to push herself out of the way, huh," the man said, and Danny half-turned, which meant he could sort-of see Max's half of the arena from the corner of his eye. "Clever. And not somethin' I'd expect from a boy."

Danny turned away as he saw clefairy get up, snapping off an Encore that didn't hit before the pyroar got a Flamethrower in, but it looked pretty weak compared to earlier. Then again, Max's Pokémon wasn't in great shape either – she was able to stop the flame with a Gravity field, but the way she held herself… Definitely hurt. Still powerful enough to force pyroar to the ground as she pushed the field into him, but that wouldn't hold him for long.

"Last one," Max told clefairy, and she wagged her fingers once again, for the… Fifth? Sixth? Time of the battle, and it seemed to Danny that the entire stadium held its breath.

Power Gem appeared, slicing through the Hyper Voice. One of the projectiles, Danny thought, went into pyroar's mouth, and the rest hit his face. It was too much for the Pokémon.

The next Pokémon was one Danny knew, but didn't really know at the same time. He'd met ninetales before, but not the Alolan versions. He knew its typing was Ice and Fairy, which was a brave move for this weather.

Max returned clefairy, and he had no hesitation as he unclipped a pokéball on his belt, sending out… Sceptile?!

Danny assumed it had to do with the agreement between the two, or Max's interpretation of it. He, unlike what sounded like everyone else, didn't care about the Grass against Ice match-up. Or even the Ice and Fairy combination that resisted all of sceptile's blade moves except for Leaf Blade. That wasn't relevant – sceptile was that good.

No, what surprised him was that Max was now using his starter this early. Danny hadn't yet, and with all the talk about hiding information… It _had_ to be that agreement.

The match started, and he quickly memorised the time.

Nicholas's Pokémon led not with anything Ice-type, but with a Psyshock, but by the time it had formed, sceptile had already crossed nearly half of the distance in a full-on charge; one arm held behind him as he hid the Night Slash blade.

Psychic balls launched, sceptile went one, two, three, and they were completely and utterly demolished, allowing the Grass-type unhindered access to his target, and his right arm went out, slicing and connecting with ninetales's jaw with Leaf Blade.

An instant, instinctive, aura of frost surrounded the pale white Pokémon, and sceptile immediately bounded off with a mighty push of his legs. He recognised that the Blizzard wasn't ready yet, and that he could go through the air for a short spell while ninetales charged the powerful Ice-type move, tails standing on end; swaying in the cold wind.

It unleashed the Blizzard, but sceptile took the shortest path back; straight through the cold in a Quick Attack, this time going for a grapple and absorb combination. He forced the fox to the ground, carefully keeping its jaw shut so an Ice Beam couldn't easily form, draining some energy, and then getting away when a sudden Psyshock appeared alongside the localised cold.

One of the projectiles hit sceptile's tail, but he gave it a look before deciding it wasn't worth his time, instead firing off a rapid-fire Bullet Seed salvo that only missed because ninetales had already been in the process of moving around.

Danny expected an Ice Beam to come out now – the attack being ever-present among all Ice-types – and he wasn't disappointed, but neither did sceptile disappoint. Quick Attack saved him from being turned into a frozen lizard-like Pokémon, and when another Psyshock appeared, he switched to an X-Scissor on his blades as he sped along.

The Psychic projectiles were swatted back effortlessly while at speed, and ninetales just couldn't dodge both them and sceptile in time. This time, there was no mercy, as Max's Pokémon delivered a brutal one-two-three combination: right blade staggering the Alolan Pokémon; left blade throwing her off the ground as he jumped up, and then the right again pile-driving her down. It was only two feet, if that, but the amount of energy sceptile put in the smash was enough to cause a cloud of dust to be thrown up.

"Ninetales is knocked out."

A minute five from start to finish. It was enough to make the entire stadium buzz with excitement and awe, while Nicholas was shaking his head ruefully, probably regretting having asked for Hoenn Pokémon only. The Kalosian recognised that he had made his bed, though, and readied his third Pokémon without delay.

Heracross made sense and not at the same time. Like the ninetales, it – she: the horn was vaguely heart-shaped – was resistant to most of the blades that sceptile could form, leaving him reliant on the physical aspect of hitting other Pokémon. They were also at least twice as heavy if Danny recalled, but choosing a Pokémon that wanted to get in close played right into sceptile's strengths too. Nicholas had used a palossand earlier in the tournament, too – which would've left him weak to Grass, sure, but at least the Ghost-type had ways of disrupting Max's plans.

But right now, Danny was pretty certain this was going to be a win for Max without losing a Pokémon. Barely, because clefairy probably couldn't take a lot more, but it was pretty impressive.

Heracross lifted herself off the ground immediately after she was allowed to, flying towards sceptile, horn lit up with Megahorn. In return, sceptile waited, bracing himself.

The impact threw dust outwards, but sceptile's blade-and-a-half block with X-Scissor held. Then he removed the right arm from his blade, which caused Megahorn to start to overpower him, but it was all calculated: Max's Grass-type ducked, which caused heracross to overbalance. In that moment, a Leaf Blade shot up, hitting the Bug-type in the abdomen and forcing her off.

She landed upside down, but she flipped herself back upright in an instant, rushing forwards with claws glowing. The first Arm Thrust hit sceptile harder than he was expecting, and the parry barely held. The second forced him to adjust his stance to something a lot less stable, and heracross thrust forward a third time with – Danny imagined – a loud cry of triumph.

Only for the starter to flip the script on her. Pushing forward into the still-locked claw-and-blade on his right, heracross, again, found herself overextended and out of balance. The Arm Thrust did hit sceptile's side, but it was a glancing hit, and heracross was soon lifted into the air. A quick flutter of small wings made the Dual Chop that went straight for her horn miss, but sceptile recovered pretty fast, unleashing a spray of Bullet Seeds to try and force the blue Pokémon out of the sky again.

That happened, and this time, a slight red tinge overtook heracross's eyes as she sunk into the rhythm of a Close Combat strategy the moment that she landed. A thrust forward, parried. A horn swiped: deflected and paid for with a Leaf Blade landing, but a kick hit sceptile in the side, and he had to block two punches and take a few steps backwards.

Two or three more than strictly needed, in fact.

The Forest Pokémon lunged forward in a close-range Quick Attack, breaking the meditation that heracross had going and forcing both of them to the ground, where the fight turned into a chaos in which both Pokémon got in several hits, with one big difference from before: sceptile was the attacker this time.

The defending heracross eventually forced him away with a mighty heave and maybe a hint of Megahorn, but if it had bothered Max's Pokémon, it didn't show. He landed on his feet, looking a bit worse for wear, but still eager to go, Leaf Blades as vibrant as ever, while heracross looked a bit scruffy.

But it wasn't nearly over yet, and both Pokémon surged forwards at the same time: sceptile sticking with Leaf Blades while heracross looked for opportunities with Arm Thrust.

Swipes, hews, and slashes met careful blocks for seven attempts, but the eighth was a miss as the Leaf Blade suddenly vanished – causing the arm to overshoot – and reappeared in a better position a moment after. The blow unbalanced heracross, and sceptile turned on his feet, slamming his tail into the Fighting-type.

She managed to grab hold of it before being flung off, though, and the plan went awry as sceptile was sent flying himself, though again, he managed to stick the landing easily, not even needing a hand to the ground. It did allow a few seconds for heracross to catch her breath and for her to start concentrating on something.

Something orange and purple."Giga Impact!"

Danny didn't like that. Maybe Nicholas was trying to knock sceptile out in one go with an attack that couldn't really be blocked like the others could, but if he had to guess, sceptile wasn't even half done.

"Off course!" Max commanded in return, and for once, Danny had no idea what to make of the command.

But it became clear soon enough. Sceptile planted both of his hands into the ground, unleashing a pretty weak Frenzy Plant – nowhere near as strong as others could use. But the single root that burst out from the ground was perfectly timed, and the low-flying heracross was knocked away, causing Giga Impact to miss sceptile and instead hit the shielding straight behind him.

Sceptile recovered faster, and this time, heracross was unable to withstand the flurry of attacks that came her way. By the time she was putting up resistance, sceptile was too close to her, within her guard, and only something like what ninetales had done earlier with the Blizzard would throw him off. That was not in heracross's moveset, however, and the Bug-type fell.

"Three to nothing! A dominant performance from the teenager from Petalburg! Look out in the Full Battles, folks, because he looks hungry for more!"

Danny scoffed as he stood up, thinking of what way he had to go to find the changing room Max was probably in. Hungry for more? The only thing Max was probably hungry for was actual lunch, thanks to being scheduled at around noon.

Which was why Danny had bought an energy bar prior to the match to give to Max.

It took him about ten minutes to make his way over to the changing room he thought Max was in – three of which had been taken up by a girl wanting to take a picture with him for some reason. He'd never understand fans, but smiling and nodding was easy enough.

After making sure it was the right changing room – he'd recognise those clothes lying on a bench anywhere – he sat down, waiting for Max to finish his shower.

Once he did, and once the blue-haired teen started flopping out of the shower area on slightly too big bath slippers, Danny threw the energy bar in that direction.

It hit Max on the chest, but he didn't even blink as he picked it up, only stopping to adjust the towel slung around his waist a tiny bit after doing so. "Hi to you too," he said as he unwrapped the food. "Couldn't have said you were here?"

"Where's the fun in that?"

"As you remind me so often," Max replied, but Danny knew that the younger boy loved it all the same. "Don't get why you went to sit in the audience instead of in the booth at arena level," he added before biting into the bar.

"That's the reason." Max stopped himself from taking a second bite out of the food, wordlessly asking a question. "Yeah. By the time I had one of those, it was about a minute until the battle." Danny shrugged. "Your clefairy tricks impressed a couple of old people. And I'm impressed you got that much done with Frenzy Plant."

"Sceptile could've dodged it for ages, but I saw where he stood, so why not. Not like I didn't have other Pokémon left." Max stood up, reaching for his clothing, and the older teen promptly stood up and turned around, facing the door. "Still has a long way to go, though."

"I'm not sure if it's worth it," Danny replied honestly. "You put that time into Frenzy Plant over the last month – along with regular scrapping, sure – and I got swampert to perfect Ice Punch in that time. And with this weather, too – Solarbeam works too, y'know."

"Maybe, but too late to worry about that now," Max replied. "I'm decent, by the way."

Decent meant trousers on, but that was fine. "True. No use crying over spilt milk. Bet Nicholas might be a little annoyed that he went for that challenge, though."

"Nah, he wouldn't be. He asked for it himself."

"Sceptile too?"

"Not in so many words, but he didn't want me to hold back anything. So I didn't." Max looked up after putting socks on his feet. "Bit more ruthless, right?"

 **~~§~~§~~**

There was no warning for Max. One moment, he and Danny were casually walking down the pretty empty streets of Silver Town; the second Monday of the League. It was a day without any battles, and with only sixteen Trainers left in the tournament, a lot of people had left or were using the day to wake up late. As a result, not a lot of people were around to see Max nearly stumble and plant his face onto the pavement as something hit him in the back.

Something also pulled him back, but that wasn't needed, even as a Pokémon climbed up onto Max's shoulder, and he saw yellow from the corner of his eye. "No need to tackle me to the ground, pikachu," he said as Danny held in laughter – if the snort was anything to go by. "And Ash being up at this hour? Did I miss something?"

"I heard that," the Frontier Brain replied, not at all hurt by the accusation. It was true after all. "And it's all your fault anyway."

Max turned around fully, now seeing Ash in the morning sunlight. There was a second Pokémon next to him, explaining the small tug he had felt. "An abra? Huh."

"Huh?" Danny echoed. "Whatcha mean by that?"

"Just… Never thought Ash was the type for a Psychic Pokémon. No offence." Max shrugged, which caused pikachu to tense up a bit from the movement. "And why is it our fault?"

"Looked out the window, saw your backs." The Pallet Town native pointed back down the street to a hotel. "At least, I thought it was you. So I told pikachu to go find out while I went after him."

"And abra?" Danny asked, as Max checked the Pokémon by Ash's side. It was attempting to levitate itself, but it didn't appear to work that well.

"I'm not going to jump out of a third floor window without aid."

"Getting old, I see," Max remarked lazily, being rewarded with pikachu making a sound that sounded like a guffaw. "Though I'm not sure why you didn't just take the stairs. We would've waited."

"Got a reputation to keep up with you," Ash shot back with a grin. "'sides, any practice and all that. Only caught him last week and we don't think he's that old."

Max agreed, watching abra's attempts and noticing a slight hiccup in the self-levitation. It turned into the Psychic-type losing focus, dropping out of the hover, but Ash was there to return the beige Pokémon. "So, you here to check on future challengers? Have you even had any yet?"

"Just the one. Didn't work out for him. Pikachu knows more about that," the Frontier Brain told them, and Max _thought_ the mouse struck a satisfied pose. Hard to tell, though. "You're right about the future challengers, though. Scott's going to invite a few people."

"Hope he's got a better way of springing it on people than he did with you," Max muttered as his spirits rose. The fact that Scott _was_ here for invites gave them a chance to be invited themselves. "Is his driving still as bad as it was?"

Ash didn't need to answer in words to confirm it. The wry look and the complaining pikachu did that for him. "Turned down the ride here, flew in on tropius instead."

"Is it that bad?"

"It's worse," the two teenagers who had experienced the horror chorused. "He can make you seasick in a car." Danny looked surprised. "I don't know how he does it either."

"Enough about him, though. He won't be looking for you because..." A pause as Ash cleared his throat. "If you want to do the Battle Frontier, you can."

Silence. For about three seconds as the words echoed in Max's brain. "We're invited?" Danny asked, sounding like he wanted to make absolutely sure.

"Yep. You're invited. Youngest ever, blah blah blah. But Scott's had an eye on you since December and I know he's talked to a couple of the Gym Leaders. They were pretty positive."

Somehow, Max doubted that had included Lance for his Rising Badge challenge. Though it could've been Clair and the video. "Well… Guess we know where to go next."

"Yeah," Danny agreed, still… Uncertain? "Sorry. Max was convincing enough we'd get an invite, but..."

"But getting the invite is different," Ash finished for Danny.

"Yeah. Yeah, that's it," Danny agreed too quickly. There was more there. "It's just… I've never won a Full Battle."

"How many have you been in?"

"Two," Danny answered. "Not counting spars, of course. Both in Kalos."

Ash put his hand on Danny's shoulder, and Max's best friend looked a bit uncertain. "Where you lost to the winner and Max. But let me tell you a secret of the Battle Frontier," the Frontier Brain said, acting as if he was going to reveal something really big.

Max barely held laughter in when Ash looked around for eavesdroppers.

"Nearly all of the Battle Frontier doesn't have Full Battles either. With one exception, but that's only if you get lucky. Or unlucky." He shrugged, taking his hand off of the shoulder. "Greta added a Full Battle option as a small chance on her wheel."

That explained it. Max certainly didn't remember any Full Battles from that time. Three on three or two on two, mostly. "You're sticking with three on three?" he asked, but Ash didn't answer, smiling instead. "Fine, be that way."

"Right," Danny said, sounding both relieved and a tiny bit confused. "There's seven places, with the first six fixed and then the seventh… Moving? In a giant pyramid?" Nods all around greeted his attempt to get back to what he felt was normal.. "That's just too much."

"Brandon is a bit eccentric, but a very strong Trainer," Ash said, surprising Max – who hadn't expected Ash would know how to use 'eccentric'. The Pokémon on his shoulder seemed similarly surprised. "And yeah, that's it. You can't challenge the Battle Pyramid until you've done the others, which are all over the Kanto region. Max can probably tell you where all of them are."

That was a challenge he was up to. "The Factory's near Cerulean on Route 4. The Arena is north of Saffron, and the Dome is east of it, near Lavender. The Pike is south-east of Fuchsia," he listed off on his fingers. "You're out near the Seafoam Islands, and the Tower is near the Tohjo Falls. Which you should remember, Danny." A pause as he realised something. "Isn't the Tower closer to Pallet than the Factory? Why didn't we go there first?"

"Because Misty was with us, remember?"

Max had completely forgotten that, but another memory surfaced. "Right. And then her sisters started giving out Badges or something."

"Sounds like them." Ash stretched before looking sheepish. "I need to go get breakfast and tell the hotel that I'm out, but one last thing, okay?"

"Sure?"

"Please leave the Battle Palace for later on, okay?" the Frontier Brain asked. "I… It's not..."

"You want to get some time to prepare because you know us and stuff," Max guessed. It seemed to be a good guess, too. "Sure. Can do that. But you owe us some help for the Conference, then."

"I was going to do that anyway."

That, Max mused as Ash's stomach grumbled loud enough that he could hear it too, was entirely the point.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Gary had never been inside the Grand Champion's mansion. He'd had dreams of living here when he was younger, of course, but those days were as done as the mementos hanging on the wall; the paintings and pictures that watched them before they reached a more comfortable setting, with a dragonair waiting for them. "She is still doing that?" Gramps asked, sounding amused as the draconic Pokémon checked them out, moving effortlessly and gracefully through the air. She gazed into Gary's eyes for a spell, but dragons respected strength of will, and so he did not yield. "Do you inform her every time there's someone new coming here?"

"Yes," Lance admitted, to Gary's surprise. "She is protective of hearth and home like none of my other dragons are. And for more… formal visits, it serves as a reminder."

"Of what?"

"Of the power that Pokémon hold. Which is something politicians often forget in this region," Lance remarked casually, but with an undertone of steel. "Though zapdos's rampage through the Power Plant last October certainly reminded them of that." He led them to the sitting area, where drinks had already been poured. Water, but with some kind of flavouring added probably. The colour was off. "But we're not here to discuss politics per se."

"Though undoubtedly we will touch on it," Gramps said, taking a battered Gem out of his coat pocket and placing it on the table. "This makes two methods of disrupting Pokémon that have been observed in connection to Hoenn."

"They shouldn't use these for more than that," Gary mentioned before taking a gulp from the glass. Ginger and something like lemon? Huh. Refreshing at least. "You need a more powerful signal for that, and these aren't renewable. Using Pokémon is."

Gramps sighed at his blunt words, but Lance gave a careful nod. "Crude, but accurate. There have been instances of Pokémon being controlled or influenced via signals before. Team Rocket was involved, usually," he added, needlessly in Gary's opinion. Everything he'd read about had happened on Rocket turf, and nobody else had the resources to sink into that. "However, most of the time, technology, not Pokémon, was the main energy source for the control."

"Do you think it likely that this technology will also be used?"

"It is not unlikely," Lance answered Gramps's question."I've known from the beginning that Rocket technology had leaked to Hoenn. It is how the three of them were able to find the facility in the first place," he said, filling in a gap that Gary had wondered about idly, but never really had felt the need to follow up on. "But that device was a lucky shot. By now, it seems almost certain that they'll have accounted for the eventuality and masked their signals."

"Actually," Gary spoke up, drawing a hissed breath and calculating scrutiny. "They're probably using radio waves. But probably ones that wouldn't be detected easily. Out of the way of the regular bands."

The silence was absolute enough that he could hear the faint sound of air conditioning and the chime of dragonair's bell as she settled on the back of her Trainer's chair. "This is out of my expertise, but… Wouldn't you be able to mask those? Encryption is a thing."

"It's not my area either," Gramps admitted, "but doesn't radio encryption make the message unintelligible to outsiders? You can still _hear_ it if you're tuned in right, but it'd be a message you couldn't understand. Same like intercepting a letter without the cipher."

"That makes sense, but why would..." Lance said, trailing off and looking troubled. "Never mind. I'll deal with that later." The Grand Champion collected himself, but then something else visibly came to mind, and he paled. "Professor, apart from the ralts line, which Pokémon learn Hypnosis and are native to Hoenn?"

"None I can recall offhand," Gramps said, appearing uncertain of where this was going. "Well, spinda and poliwag do, but none of those Types have been used in an attack. Why?"

"Mandarin North," were words enough to turn the older Oak pale as well, though Gary wasn't sure on the reference. Lance noticed. "A drowzee hooked up to a warehouse-sized amplifier took aggressive control of Pokémon. They were used to attack on command as opposed to the more disjointed attacks we've seen so far."

Well, _fuck_. Gary wasn't even surprised to find out he'd said that out loud, nor did he care about Gramps being shocked at the language. "So if they get a Pokémon that knows that… And they used a ralts before..."

"May palkia have mercy on us if they realise this," Lance invoked softly. "Samuel, Gary, it's been enlightening, but I find myself needing to talk to Sabrina and find out why one of the tech department seems to have told me a half-truth at best." The Grand Champion quickly gulped down what was left of his own ginger-lemon water. "Can you connive an excuse to get this through to Birch?"

"We can think of something. Go, Lance," his grandfather ordered, and as the red-haired man left the room, Gramps hummed in thought. "A direct approach would be too obvious. It'll have to be you, but there are no conferences in the near future." Another hum. "Are there any hard to find and to care for Pokémon you'd like to catch?"

Gary cast his mind through the Pokémon he wanted at some point. He discarded the aerodactyl and the relicanth; the former too rare and the latter too common deep under the water. Honedge weren't native to Hoenn, but that did give him an idea. "I've got a Pokémon that's hard to find in mind." He told his grandfather, who seemed pretty surprised. "I know they appear in Sinnoh as well, but it's easier and faster to get to Hoenn from Pallet."

"Some are native to Kanto too," Gramps said, surprising Gary in turn, not that he'd admit it. "But if you want one, Hoenn and Sinnoh are better options. As much as some people dislike that fact."

Wasn't that the fucking truth.

 **~~§~~§~~**

A skitty. Danny's opponent in the round of sixteen, a man who looked like he could have a job as a personal trainer or whatever that was called, looking as manly as a man could possibly get in the teenager's opinion, started with a skitty. Not any of the Fighting-types that his profile had revealed, or even the tauros that had done a number for him in the opening rounds. A. Skitty.

It threw Danny for a loop for just a few seconds, but he he didn't see a reason to not start with what he'd planned. The Full Battles in the Silver Conference made Trainers send out Pokémon in succession instead of simultaneous, but Danny had decided he'd lead with helioptile anyway, unless something like a Ground-type came up. Skitty wasn't one, so…

The yellow Pokémon appeared on the rocky field that reminded Danny of the place he had caught her in the first place. She was also fully charged up after receiving a good week's worth of rest: she'd only been used in the very easy, very first battle of the tournament for him. The rest showed as a Thunderbolt completely shattered the opening Disarming Voice that the skitty threw out, and the cat had to skitter behind a nearby rock to avoid being electrocuted five seconds in.

Danny's Pokémon also ducked behind a rock, and once behind cover close to him, she summoned a Sandstorm that would no doubt annoy the audience, but it did well to hide her, and after what happened to the Disarming Voice, he assumed that Bruce would tell his Pokémon to get in closer. Even if the twenty-something knew it was a trap, he had to spring it.

"Left," Danny said when he saw a flash of pink dash behind a rock on that side of the arena, and a careful Thundershock was met with a Disarming Voice to block, but another quick movement blocked his sight of the small Pokémon and made it completely safe from helioptile's Electric attacks in the process. "Prepare and hold."

As he guessed, so did it happen, but the exact attack wasn't in his plans. Instead of going around, the Kitten Pokémon burst _through_ the rocks that protected it, outlined in some kind of semi-transparent energy.

Helioptile landed the Thunderbolt she'd been holding, but it didn't do anything, as the skitty slammed itself into her, sending Danny's Pokémon into the air. She clipped a rock before slamming into the shielding on the side, but she looked awake, if hurt, and immediately, she started forming a Parabolic Charge to sap some energy back.

Skitty hadn't come off unhindered, and she had to take the hit for a little while – a Disarming Voice finally disrupting the attack, but also causing a small explosion to happen in its face, blocking its sight and causing it to sneeze.

The instinctual dodge on the Thundershock was good, but so was helioptile's guesswork, and a second one managed to send it tumbling behind a rock for cover; in Danny's view.

The yellow Pokémon looked in his direction for a moment, and he quickly made a half-circle with his right hand, telling her what path to take while skitty hid and recuperated.

It also raised a paw, and a bit of light appeared on it – and Danny recognised it from Max's description of Assist.

It coalesced into a ring of water around its small body, which Bruce's Pokémon accepted gratefully. The Aqua Ring would revitalise it a bit, but it also had a downside, and helioptile had seen it happen as she was circling around – skitty not realising that she was doing so and the Sandstorm stopping its Trainer from warning it to move while doing Assist.

Water and electricity didn't mix, and helioptile proved that with a large Thunderbolt that caused a small explosion and an airborne cat. "Track and Razor Wind!"

With a swipe of her ears, the sharp slash of air tore through the rapidly diminishing Sandstorm, to where skitty was hazily visible to Danny's eyes, and it hit at just the right time, slamming into the length of its body.

The referee ruled it out after that, and Danny was surprised for a moment before realising that the Kitten Pokémon had slammed through a rock at least twenty times its own weight earlier. With something that, in memory, looked a lot like Double Edge. Which would explain why helioptile was looking pretty fatigued despite being hit only once – there had been a lot of power behind that move.

He hoped that his defence was enough to make it through the round.

The second Pokémon surprised him for just a moment, but then the Flying-type from Sinnoh accelerated in a harsh white light that caused Danny to bite back a minced oath.

Righteous anger as staraptor Retaliated skitty's defeat was more than enough to cause another meeting of Electric-type and shielding, and though she had managed to get off at least a bit of electricity, it had done basically nothing as the staraptor dove in with talons stretched out.

The return was a forfeit, and Danny knew it, but he was fine with that.

He had also gotten a close look at the bird, and though it had flown off before he could be certain, the spot on its forehead; underneath the black-and-red crest, looked too big to belong to a female one. Which meant that it was male.

And this time, there was no Gym Leader who would run out the clock on you for not being able to chase too high. Spritzee could work very well against it, him, if Danny was right.

He hoped he was.

Some surprise echoed around the stadium, announcer included, when the Fairy-type came out. There was more of it when no order came as staraptor started flying around, looking to pick up speed for something like an Aerial Ace. Spritzee just swayed in a non-existent wind, waiting patiently to counter whatever was thrown at her as the remnants of the earlier Sandstorm died out.

It wasn't Aerial Ace. It was Brave Bird.

The Predator Pokémon crashed into spritzee's Protect with a resonating clang, sending her hurtling through the air and going down to the ground himself; groggy from the reckless move and the impact on something harder than concrete. The increased power behind the attack meant Danny's small Fairy-type would have to hope that staraptor didn't see it coming or couldn't recover as he struggled to get airborne again.

The pink light connected. "Full suite!"

Spritzee dove towards the grounded bird, who seemed a bit out of it from being struck by love while recovering. Those troubles worsened, as a barrage of Sweet Kisses – and an additional Attract for good measure – bombarded him, followed by spritzee unleashing a scented wave of sweet perfume to further soothe.

From experience, Danny knew that Sweet Kiss and Sweet Scent were already a nightmare to get out of – the confusion and the smell just working together so that you didn't really want to do anything before you fell down face first. Adding Attract to that had nearly managed to defeat Max's sceptile at one point, before he broke through it just long enough to deliver a harsh Leaf Blade.

The plan was simple enough. Spritzee would alternate Echoed Voices with Sweet Scents and Sweet Kisses – with an Attract thrown in every so often, all to create a combo that an enemy couldn't get out of. The pain from the attack would be soothed away by the love and confusion and sweetness, until the point where the body just couldn't take any more and the Pokémon fainted.

Staraptor certainly seemed like he was headed that way, throwing up a wing to shield himself from the rings, but the attempts weren't enough to shield him from the effects, and after three Echoed Voices, every single flash of light spritzee produced; be it from Sweet Kiss, Echoed Voice, or even Attract, caused the bird to flinch as he expected pain soon after.

"Staraptor just cannot snap out of the combination that spritzee has locked it in!" the announcer told the audience. "And Bruce is looking worried, but returning now would be a forfeit. Will his Pokémon snap out of it in time?"

The answer was yes. Sort of. At the eighth Echoed Voice, the wing stayed down, and there was no flinch either when the Attract was thrown – nor did Danny think there was adoration on staraptor's face as he took a few uncertain steps forward, trying to get off the ground. "Retreat and prepare."

Spritzee did so, and finally, staraptor took to the skies again. It let out an incensed cry, flying up and then diving down at a sharp angle, looking to ram into spritzee again with something like Brave Bird.

Except he didn't. At the last possible moment, the bird changed tact; and with Protect already up, it was child's play for staraptor's feet to connect with the nearly solid shield, before a mighty flap of his wings provided him with momentum upwards.

And spritzee was sent down to the ground with equal momentum. She crashed lightly, able to slow her descent just enough that it was a soft landing, but as she dusted herself off with a small shake, Danny looked up and saw staraptor finishing a mid-air turn; white energy already forming around him. It was unstable, tendrils breaking off constantly, but that didn't matter. Protect wouldn't work, and spritzee had nowhere to hide. "Moonblast!"

She got the attack off in time, but the aim on Bruce's Pokémon was too accurate. Undeflected, he crashed right into spritzee, then into the ground, and the crash was loud and big enough that the ground inside the arena trembled just a tiny bit with the impact.

"Staraptor and spritzee are both knocked out!"

"Un-be-lieveable!" the announcer yelled as Danny bit back annoyance at the combination nearly working, but not quite getting there in the end. "Staraptor, despite the beating it took, managed to take spritzee out with a single Brave Bird! Talk about strength from Bruce's Pokémon. Bet that wasn't in the game plan for Danny!"

At least that meant there were no more flying Pokémon to deal with. Danny and Max's regular looking up of things the night before had revealed several things about his opponent. The many Fighting-types were some of them, but another was that he had only used the staraptor in this tournament and the last one – which was the same Sinnoh League that Ash had won. No other fliers had appeared, unless he was keeping something up his sleeve.

Danny suspected that his next Pokémon was going to give Bruce more than a few problems regardless of what her opponent was. "Dusclops, let's go."

The azumarill on the other end was out for three seconds when it was returned. Danny didn't fully understand why: phasing through water was pretty tricky, but the Pokémon that came out explained it.

Despite their Fighting-type, machamp were capable of learning Foresight with ease. Bruce had done his homework as well, it seemed.

"Guess this is what it's going to be like," Danny muttered into the microphone as the machamp advanced and red light swept over the arena. It failed to swat a Shadow Ball away, though, meaning dusclops got the first hit in at least before everything went into a brawl. "Will-O-Wisp defence."

Machamp let loose a double punch with both of its left arms to start, but only the lower connected with dusclops's body as the other one was burnt from a sharp burst of purple flame, stopping it in its tracks. Danny's Pokémon took a step back as the fist connected, summoning another set of flame in the way of the other punches that came in from the right side, again blocking the upper arm from hitting her. Then the left side came back in, but this time, one of the fists lit itself on fire instead, and the mixed flame produced a small shock wave that forced both of the Pokémon a step back.

Machamp went for a cheeky low sweep after that, but Protect took care of it, and dusclops went forward with a Fire Punch of her own after that, landing a hit on the abdomen and throwing up enough Will-O-Wisp to safely retreat into her waiting position. She then directed the ghostly flame forwards, covering the muscled Pokémon in fire just as it was about to launch another flurry of punches.

The opening she created with that meant that the next attack was blocked with a defensive Shadow Ball, before the Will-O-Wisps came back. The pattern was the same, though: left fists, then right fists, and this time, dusclops blocked the lower arms first, making sure that the hurt was distributed equally, or as equally as possible, and leaving machamp guessing where she would block next.

"An inspired defence from dusclops. Can machamp break through?"

The reapplication of Foresight gave another short moment in which dusclops could sneak an attack of her own in: Night Shade this time. It hit machamp's foot – the only foot that was left on the ground and that couldn't move, because the other had been attempting to go for a low sweep again, but instead, the only one who ended up on the ground was machamp.

It got up fast, but it had to take a weak Shadow Ball to the face in return.

The Superpower Pokémon's stance shifted, and the red glow revealed the Close Combat it was going for. "Deflect and yield."

Protect, step back, glancing hit, dodge, Fire Punch to block and be forced back. Shadow Ball on the approach, Will-O-Wisp in exchange for being hit. Protect, step back, dodge, glancing hit, dodge, Fire Punch to block.

In Danny's opinion, the machamp was still making a mistake by not going for an all-out offensive. As the third cycle of Close Combat-aided punched began, he noticed that it was still not going in with more than two arms at a time – though at least this was a diagonal pair, which was hell to block. But it wasn't powerful enough to really force dusclops on the defence – this was like fighting sceptile with a bit more power, instead of the heavy-handed punches that swampert doled out. She had trouble defending against those for too long, because they hurt too much, but all this would do – helped by that quirk of dusclops that they tired opponents out pretty easily – was to allow her to set the pace of the battle. The announcer jeered every time that a Fire Punch block occurred, sure, and the Ice Punch that machamp threw up at the last second was a cool defence trick to stop the fist from hurting too much, but he didn't know dusclops like Danny did.

And it was no surprise that after three rounds of Close Combat, the approach on the fourth attempt was just a bit off – a tired swagger in machamp's step as it advanced. And dusclops knew perfectly well what to do in that situation, first unleashing a Will-O-Wisp to ensnare the tired machamp, and using the seconds that bought to create a Shadow Ball that then impacted on the machamp, alongside the flame.

One arm had to go to the ground as its strength failed. "Fast spread."

At maybe eight feet away, dusclops couldn't miss her target, and her target was whatever machamp used to stay standing. The first small orb connected as it tried to resume walking. The second one knocked one wrist away from the ground. The third one knocked a second wrist away from the ground, and the fourth one hit machamp in the abdomen as it tried to lunge for dusclops.

But Foresight had worn off. Even before, Danny thought, and dusclops phased out of the physical world, allowing machamp to pass through; an eerie feeling at best, and it wasn't able to completely stop itself from crashing into the ground, landing on the two lower elbows.

Dusclops delivered a Fire Punch to its left foot before phasing out again, this time moving through the rock to her left. Machamp punched straight through it, some debris connecting with the Ghost-type, but she didn't care, instead throwing a Shadow Ball out, straight into the Fighting-type's face, and it howled in pain; both of its upper hands grabbing and covering its nose.

A four-orb Shadow Ball spread impacted on the centre of mass – two on the lower arms that were blocking, two on its abdomen – and though they weren't that powerful of themselves, it was more and more chipping away at machamp's strength.

A Foresight came through, as did a spray of flame, and machamp lunged forward, looking for another heavy blow like the one that had served staraptor so well earlier.

But Protect was up, and machamp went down like a bag of potatoes.

As the break started, Danny returning and immediately sending dusclops out as per regulations, just so that the field could be refreshed, he felt that he might actually have a chance at winning this Full Battle.

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _One of the more peculiar and not well understood Abilities is known as Pressure. Seen most often on a variety of Legendary or rare Pokémon, this Ability causes attacks to be either more draining, which is the physical application, or for them to have less effect once connecting from range. The former is observed in all Pokémon in this list, while the latter is limited to the truly powerful specimen; almost always a Legendary._

 _Known Pokémon with this Ability are the Legendary Birds, the Legendary Beasts, absol, dusclops and dusknoir, vespiquen, and spiritomb._

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Or that chapter in which punches are rolled with. Cliffhanger because the chapter as-is is already the longest in this fic and I don't want to push this to a 13k monster.

I'll leave that for later. Story ain't over.

Metronome list: Twister, Lucky Chant (which manifested as minor protection through avoiding the worst of attacks), Entrainment, Ancient Power, Signal Beam, and Power Gem.


	28. Defence And Offence

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 27: Defence And Offence**

"I like these Trainers," the blue-grey haired woman in their luxurious box declared, several well-furnished chairs over, as far below them, two Trainers plotted their next moves.

In Will's opinion, the advantage thus far laid with the younger of the two. "Them? And not the ones earlier?" the Elite Four member asked his colleague. "Or were you disappointed with the defeat of your Type?"

"Type doesn't matter, Will," Karen stated as she rose to stretch locked muscles away. "Anything Lee and his Pokémon did in battle, anyone that made it past the initial groups could if they were given the knowledge of what his Pokémon had up their sleeves. For him, a dozen others. For every defeated Trainer bar one, a hundred others."

The one was probably the loser of the previous match, the Psychic-type Master surmised. Regina had waltzed over the opposition cleanly, but her opponent had made the best of a bad situation, holding on stalwartly despite being outclassed at every level. Will could respect that, though Regina's power was more what he sought in Trainers. "What makes these two so different?"

"Identity," was an answer he should have seen coming. As ever, it seemed his blank spot regarding her thoughts was in effect. "Pokémon that work with them, not they that work with Pokémon. The masses can scoff at Bruce's no holds barred brawling, but we just saw that on a skitty. A _skitty_ ," she emphasised, throwing her hands up. "I'm not certain Whitney would feel vindicated or shocked."

Will chuckled, staying within what politeness dictated. "Both, I think. Which has the upper hand depends on the day of the week," he said as movement down below revealed a field restored, and movement on the right side as someone walked back to the arena-level seating. "And the boy? I don't see an overarching theme."

"Anyone who attempts and nearly gets essentially a flawless victory is worthy of recognition," Karen replied instantaneously. "But we'll probably see more now. He prefers defending and countering by his own admission."

"Oh?" Will said, raising an eyebrow before seeing Karen walk off in the direction of the drinks. "And what source have you for that?"

"Kalos interview," Karen replied, voice slightly muffled as she knelt behind a refrigerator door. "He ended fourth in one of the Leagues there." She rose, plastic bottle grasped in her hand. "And Lance, even if he won't admit it anywhere that isn't his mansion, thinks very highly of him and the boy's best friend. Three battles from now. And _he_ has a couple of Psychic-types."

"Really..." He'd have to stay here, then. Not that it was a chore.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Dusclops was ready, a bit rejuvenated by the rest, and in general still pretty okay to battle. Probably.

But even if she wasn't able to defeat whatever Bruce was going to send out… Max had reminded Danny of something in the break. And that might well win him the battle if Bruce didn't react to it the right way.

"Another Fighting-type, huh," he muttered when the opposing Pokémon was revealed. Sure, it was what they had expected up front, and it probably knew Foresight, but still, sending out two Fighting-types to deal with a Ghost-type – and not the azumarill – felt weird. Especially after the fire that dusclops had been using.

Psychic and Ghost were weak to Ghost, so… Maybe his last Pokémon was medicham? It was the only one he'd shown that made sense like that.

Danny'd figure that out when it came. The referee's flag went down, and dusclops used the time that primeape had to take to cross the field to destroy some of the nearby rocks, so the Fighting-type couldn't hide behind them. Machamp hadn't been able to on account of its slightly larger than normal size, but primeape was smaller than dusclops and pretty agile from the looks of it.

Not agile enough to avoid all of the Shadow Balls that dusclops fired off as a warning shot after clearing her surroundings, but the six-spread was pretty weak by necessity. Foresight swept over the debris-riddled area, and a hand started to glow an eerie dark.

The Protect held, forcing primeape back, and dusclops followed it up with a Will-O-Wisp that struck the angry Pokémon on the same fist that had just used Night Slash – the right one.

The forced block with Fire Punch on the left fist seemed to have a lot less power behind it than the other, even if dusclops grunted in annoyance as the Dark-type energy connected with her. "It's right-handed," Danny warned as primeape tried for another punch – regular, no extra energy. "Disable that."

A jab made it through the Ghost-type's guard as she focused, but the fire went out, striking right on the right fist as it was drawing back – and maybe there was a hint of darkness around it; it was hard to tell. The Pig Monkey Pokémon screeched in response, and a red glow appeared, starting from the eyes outward, but spreading to envelop Bruce's primate.

Who knew they could learn Outrage.

Protect got rid of the first blow, but unlike last time, primeape wasn't forced back, instead continuing its assault and hitting he Protect a second time. Dusclops dropped the shield for the third, choosing to roll with the punch as she found a gap to sneak a Fire Punch through herself. That got her hit another two times, but a snap Night Shade caused the monkey to stagger, and dusclops to be able to create a pair of Shadow Balls just in time for her opponent to hit right into them, creating an explosion.

The assault continued unabated, though, Danny unwilling to interject for an order when things were this fast-paced. Dusclops knew what the weak points were, and how to deal with them. She summoned a wave of Will-O-Wisp fire, holding it close for the primeape to strike through every time it wanted to hit her, and in its Outraged mindset, the Fighting-type gleefully did so, unheeding of its own body and fur.

Fur that was beginning to look singed between the Will-O-Wisp and the Fire Punches.

A second Protect eventually came up in response to the assault, after what felt like forever, but was really as soon as dusclops could do it, and this time, primeape staggered more than the first time it had struck the shield under Outrage. Dusclops immediately dropped the barrier, taking a single step forward and going in with a Fire Punch that hit right on one of the smouldering sparks. It ignited, causing a shriek of pain and a redoubled offensive.

For nothing.

Foresight had faded, and with primeape was too incensed to reapply it. Dusclops relocated before reappearing, and by the time she was found, a Shadow Ball had already grown to be nearly a feet across.

It was not appreciated, and though Outrage faded as primeape hit the ground, the landing was hard, and definitely not helped by skidding into the loose small rocks with jagged edges. Getting up was punished by a violent Night Shade that traced an unsteady line across the arena; with small sparks breaking off as dusclops aimed it.

A lucky Shadow Ball hit as the white-ish Pokémon rolled to the right, trying to get up, but not being given any chance to do so, and a second one exploded so close to its face that it might as well have hit. "Night Shade to finish."

It took far longer to summon the attack than Danny wanted, and he realised he'd made a mistake by ordering it. Dusclops was pretty spent, and the time she needed to collect herself was enough for the primeape to get on its feet and jump up, before coming down with feet glowing.

Night Shade still connected, despite the Earthquake further demolishing Danny's side of the field, and primeape rolled back, stopping not too far from Danny, but his attention wasn't on that. It was on dusclops, who had fallen over thanks to the tremors.

But with a half-roll, her left hand allowed her to push herself into a sitting position, from where she got up. "Way to go dusclops!"

" _That_ is one tough dusclops! The Outrage was relentless, but the defences held!" the announcer said as Bruce returned his Pokémon from across the field, before… Taking a break? "Looks like someone's thinking hard after that defeat!"

Danny didn't care. The more time that Bruce used, the easier it would be for dusclops to hold her own for a bit. She hadn't moved from her spot, instead waiting stoically, movement of her hands the only sign she was waiting for whatever was going to come out. Azumarill, or the mystery sixth Pokémon.

It was the mystery Pokémon, which turned out to be a lucario; a fact that made Danny's heart soar. It would probably have to get in close, and that was just what they wanted. "Disrupt everything."

And so she did. The Foresight swept over her, and the Aura Spheres came; one curving over the right, the other over the left, but with a minimal pair of Shadow Balls, dusclops disrupted the aura structure of the move harshly enough that the attacks exploded, taking the top of one of the rocks with it on the right. A third and fourth – high lob and powerful straight down middle – met the same fate.

As did the Dragon Pulse and the Shadow Balls.

The announcer said something about this clearly not working, and either Bruce or lucario must have had the same idea, because the Aura Pokémon suddenly rushed forward. Foresight shot out as well, making absolutely sure that dusclops couldn't do another disappearing trick, but beyond that, white formed on the Fighting-type's hands; distinct. The right energy formed into a Bone Rush staff, while the left remained around its fist.

Danny had no idea what it was, but he didn't care as a mixture of calm and anticipation settled within him.

The staff moved in, followed by the other fist. The long weapon hit dusclops with great force, and in that moment, purple suffused her.

And lucario fell like a puppet with its strings cut.

There was a moment of confused silence – as much as anything the size of the stadium could ever be silent – but then the roar returned and Danny released the smile he'd been holding back ever since lucario had been revealed.

"Destiny Bond. _Destiny. Bond!_ With full mutual trust, Danny and dusclops shut down every attempt for lucario to knock it out from range and provoke the up-close attack! Suddenly, this teenager might well be Lance for Bruce, as it's his azumarill against _three_ Pokémon!"

Left unsaid, but certainly understood by the people in the audience who knew a bit about him – who numbered probably more than he was comfortable with – was that one of those was probably a Mega with type advantage.

They'd be right, but there wasn't any need for aggron to come out. Exploud and masquerain were both probably fine, and if one fell, the other could finish.

Just having the choice felt incredibly liberating to Danny, and he took a moment to savour it before picking his Pokémon.

There were just too many rocks around for him to like masquerain's chances at getting out of this without annoying injury. Exploud, if nothing else, could turn what remained into a pulp to make any kind of hit-rock-launch-debris strategies from azumarill impossible. "Exploud, let's finish this."

The loud Pokémon came out at the same time as azumarill, and whereas Danny sent her out close to him, Bruce sent the Water-type out as far forward as allowed.

After the other Pokémon, Danny could only assume that it, too, fought better up close.

Azumarill and exploud both attacked as soon as the referee let the flags fall for what could be the final time. The Water-type shot forward instantly with an Aqua Jet, and exploud went for one of the sound-based attacks; the shape giving away that she tried for the Supersonic.

It got her hit by the rabbit-like projectile, and both of them tumbled to the ground, but exploud was the quicker of the two to get up, immediately unleashing a ferocious Uproar.

Azumarill managed to power through hearing that, instead trying for an Aqua Tail, but the confusion messed with its senses so that it was just a glancing hit on exploud's leg instead of a full hit. Still annoying, but with a quick jump, the purple Pokémon stomped down on the blue one.

In a flash, Danny's Pokémon found herself flipped over onto the ground, and from there, the Aqua Tail was an easy hit that nobody could ever miss. Exploud took it instead of using Protect, choosing to exchange hits as a Hyper Voice blasted azumarill straight off.

The part-Fairy landed handily, all confusion now probably gone, and it jumped up before rolling up and moving forward in a Rollout and starting to circle around, using the levelled field to its advantage.

It was too perfect not to. "Ice Beam the ground."

The prospect of having to pass over slippery ice didn't appeal, and before it could be caught, Bruce's Pokémon turned sharply, heading straight for exploud. It intercepted the Ice Beam for a moment, uncaring of that, but before it could land a hit, Protect went up, and the two Pokémon both flew backwards a bit as momentum transferred between the two.

A small Echoed Voice; recognisable mostly by the faint sheen on the move, connected, where it didn't do much. Its danger was recognised, and the second iteration met a fierce punch of some kind – white energy didn't exactly narrow it down – that disrupted the attack fully before it could affect azumarill.

Then it tried to Aqua Jet through a third round of resonating energy, and that ended up very poorly despite the quick turnover on the attacks. "Large now."

It was a mistake. Rollout enabled a quick escape, kicking up dirt and making the Echoed Voice sent vaguely in Bruce's direction do nothing except obliterate a rock while the rabbit spun, looking for enough speed to not care about anything that could be thrown at it.

"Hold and wall."

Exploud didn't do what Danny had expected her to, which was to create a high wall about twenty feet away from her. Instead, her Ice Beam created a lower wall about thirty feet away, flickering in intensity all the while. It was maybe a foot and a half high, and within no time at all, it spanned about a third of the breadth of the arena. This seemed to not faze the azumarill, who chose to build up speed on the other end, weaving in and out of the rocks so it wasn't an easy target for her to hit.

It should attack, Danny felt, but the fact that it didn't was good for whatever plan exploud had.

"Are those… Spikes?"

The announcer's words surprised Danny, who saw no Spikes whatsoever on the battlefield, before he realised it wasn't the move – it was the object. Which exploud had created on her icy barrier.

It explained the flickering, and Danny immediately realised that they were forcing azumarill into a choice. Either take the long way around the barrier, which would give exploud more time to line up a good shot, go through it and get stabbed, or jump mid-roll and be a sitting duck for whatever exploud could cook up.

He also hadn't done anything even remotely like this with exploud, but he'd accept random flashes of brilliance where and when they appeared.

Azumarill chose option three, and the high speed put it on a trajectory that went straight for the Loud Noise Pokémon, but Protect held. Barely – Danny saw it waver and flicker – but again, both of the Pokémon involved flew back, with the Water-type coming off worst by definition. It was also the second one up again, but this time, no weak Echoed Voice connected: a powerful Hyper Voice did instead.

Now was the time to move in. "Be aggressive," Danny ordered, and exploud nodded before jumping forward. She landed out of azumarill's direct reach, but took an Aqua Tail that interrupted her attempt at an Uproar. A reflexive yell or screech stopped the other Pokémon from following through with a hard-hitting Fighting-type move, and that bought her enough time to create a quick Ice Beam that went straight for the eyes.

Water-type or not; resilient beyond normal to Ice and Fire-type moves or not: ice in anyone's eyes _hurt_ , and Bruce's Pokémon yelped in pain, rubbing at them with both arms that were just long enough. It was unable to do anything but that for just a short moment, and in that moment, exploud started building.

The earlier resonance was gone; disrupted by Hyper Voice, but that didn't matter to exploud. She whipped up a rectangle, short side up, of energy that slammed into azumarill as it tried to defend itself with an Aqua Tail. It didn't work, and the Pokémon fell backwards.

It recovered before the second Echoed Voice hit, but it didn't get away before that happened; and a clip from the now horizontally oriented energy sent her tumbling right into the remains of one of the rocks that dusclops had destroyed earlier to visible pain.

The third Echoed Voice was too large to dodge. An Aqua Jet to pass through and minimise the attack was attempted, but it failed completely, instead reacting violently with the wall of sound waves and causing an explosion that sent the rabbit flying backwards hard. The landing was upside-down,sending it spinning, only to stop four flips later and just as exploud released a Hyper Voice to finish the job.

"Azumarill is unable to battle. The victor of this match is Danny Birch!"

Danny resisted the urge to be too happy – that was just rude to his opponent. "Well done, exploud," he said as she walked up, exchanging a high-five and looking as smug as exploud could – which wasn't very, what with their perpetually open mouths. "You want some rest now?"

"Ploud," she said, sounding pretty tired. Danny gave her a quick once-over, but he couldn't see anything that needed special merit later, and he returned her before looking at the other side of the field.

Bruce seemed to be looking in his direction, but before Danny could confirm it, the twenty-something walked off the field, heading for his changing room.

Suddenly, all of the sweat that had accumulated on Danny's body during the match made itself known – and there was a lot of it.

Max walked up, and they exchanged high-fives – a slippery one at that on Danny's end. "Told you you didn't need to worry."

He returned a smile as he unclipped the microphone, taking it into his hand and starting to move towards the catacombs of the stadium. "Wasn't expecting triple Fighting."

"Me neither. Aggron?"

That made sense, and Danny vowed to try and find Bruce after he'd taken a shower, but by the time he left the changing room and made his way over to the other side, his opponent was nowhere to be found.

Maybe that was for the best, he mused as he headed back the way he came. The man had looked like he could break bricks with his hands, let alone Danny's bones.

 **~~§~~§~~**

The entire group had left Silver Town for the nearby forest yet again, just like most other days that they hadn't had anything to do. This, Danny felt, was a good thing. Even though the heat wave looked like it was going to end with a spectacular set of thunderstorms at the end of the day – or so the forecast had said on the radio that morning – it was still sweltering, and worse in the town itself. It had led to Max bringing poliwhirl along, and all of the boys not wearing any shirts.

Serena had seemed a bit torn between annoyance and embarrassment at that.

She was lazing under a tree now, after a salad-filled lunch that mostly Danny had made before they'd left that morning. Max was one tree over, looking like he was doing the same to everyone who didn't know him that well – but Danny was fairly certain he was thinking about something. No clue for what, though.

The younger teenagers had vanished after lunch, as had a couple of the Pokémon. Evan's butterfree, Serena's meowth and cherrim, and his own houndour were all snoozing or soaking up the sun's rays, but poliwhirl, Evan's houndour, poochyena, and Chris's butterfree were nowhere to be seen. Probably keeping an eye on the two, Danny guessed.

Gods, it was _such_ a good way to waste time.

There was a rustle above him in the trees, but unfortunately no real wind picked up. That'd probably be a few hours still. By which time they'd all be long gone, preparing for the quarter-finals of tomorrow.

Danny was satisfied with how far he'd come. He'd won a Full Battle for the first time, _handily,_ got to the top 8 of a pretty stacked tournament, and everything just felt right. He knew the feeling was because of his win the day before, but right now, the Battle Frontier looked like a very fun challenge, and if they didn't get all seven Symbols… That was fine, too.

And they could do a Kanto circuit too. The Indigo Conference after next was nine and a half months away. Max wasn't going to say 'no' to that. It'd be busy, but Johto had felt a little empty until the tournament season had started to pick up around the time they were in Goldenrod, so… It all worked out. Or would. Probably.

It _was_ funny how a regular trip through a region was now missing something. Sure hadn't felt like that in Hoenn, but after Kalos and Serena's Showcases… What was that phrase his Dad had used once again? Once unleashed, cannot be returned? Something like that.

Two teens stomped into view, breathing heavily from a run. "I win," Chris said, bending over and putting his hands on his knees. "Told… You…"

Evan didn't reply, instead trying to get his breathing under control.

It did cause Max to stir, but poliwhirl appearing behind the two boys – looking pretty heated as well, for a Water-type – caught Danny's attention. She pushed a gentle Bubble out into the backs of the pair, to some very satisfied sighs. "Running in this weather? Really?" Danny asked them.

"If you wanted to play with water, could've just asked," Max interjected, sitting up in the corner of Danny's vision. "And not have your Pokémon drop balloons on us."

A pang, yelp, and splash followed in short order, and Max got drenched in water. Danny looked up, spotting poochyena with something blue dangling out of his mouth, looking a bit wet as well.

And directly above him, he saw familiar pads and black be not quite hidden by a branch.

That probably meant… "Call butterfree off," Danny told Evan. "Now."

Both of them gave him looks that were just a bit too genuine – at least they hadn't had _that_ as a motivation – and the butterfree fluttered on down, gently dropping the balloon in Serena's lap before landing beside her. "How… How did you know?" Evan asked as he slouched, probably a bit annoyed that the prank failed. "We told them to be quiet."

"I know what you are thinking," Max said, trying to look and sound mysterious, but failing completely on account of wet blue hair nearly falling into his eyes. "Oh, and one of the balloons was sticking out of your rear pocket, Chris."

That explained how Max knew it had been balloons. And he would've felt the Dark-types in the quiet area. He'd told Danny that it was easier to sense Dark and Ghost-types when nobody else was around and he could just relax.

Evan's houndour jumped down from the tree, landing without puncturing the water balloon, which was placed near Danny's feet, which caused Chris to glance at it. "Bleeh, stupid mistake," the curly-haired teenager said, hand going to the rear pockets Max had mentioned. "Really thought we'd get you all wet."

"You got Max wet at least," Serena replied as she walked up. "Not that he minds, I think. You could've just told us and then we'd have packed swim stuff. Or went to some river. Don't think anyone would've said no." She sighed, tilting her head down in exaggerated sadness. "And I don't think you will either."

She threw the water balloon at Chris, and the green hit him right in the ribs, splashing him and causing a loud yelp. Evan, who'd been behind him from where Serena was standing, turned to laugh.

Danny scooped the red balloon up, instantly taking aim and launching it at the boy's torso. His aim was a bit low, but true anyway, and from the side of his stomach onwards, Evan, too, was drenched in water, and the three older teenagers started laughing.

Even as they did so, Danny's eyes met Max's, and the younger and wetter nodded his head in Serena's direction just a bit.

Yeah, they had to tell her. Later.

 **~~§~~§~~**

The room was pretty full, but between the bed, two chairs, and a desk, the four teenagers and three Pokémon managed. "Is it okay if I stay even if I don't have anything to add?" Serena asked, sitting on one of the chairs and petting the zorua that had jumped onto the desk after walking around the room to test Max's senses.

Which was harder than normal, thanks to being in the Pokémon Center, but he had convinced Serena that no, he wasn't crazy. Or crazier than she already thought he was. It was fair, though – Ghost-types like doublade, who was to Max's left on the pillow, did give off an aura at times.

"As if we'd let you go right now," Danny said, and a drawn-out rolling crack of thunder proved his point. "That sky looks green. You'd be crazy to go out."

To prove the point, Max felt pikachu's cheeks spark – hitting both him on the bed and Ash on the other chair. "Yeah, just stay. You know our teams too."

"Anyway," Ash said, leaning forward to rub his starter's head and getting a slight static shock for it. "Both of you in the quarter-finals. That's gonna cause people to look at your teams hard. You really can't take Pokémon you're not certain about if you want to win."

"And if the weather holds, Fire-types won't be good either," Danny added drily. "Pity. Marcus has all sorts of Bug-types."

"Type specialists know their weaknesses and will cover for them. Better not use them unless they're close to making the cut anyway."

"I know, I know." Danny sounded disappointed anyway. "I was thinking I'd just use a lot of my stronger Pokémon. Maybe it's predictable, but… I think I've got a better chance if I play to my strengths."

Ash grinned at him. "Probably a good idea. Marcus has a Mega Stone of a very physical Pokémon, so you'll need swampert and aggron."

"How do you know that?" Serena asked before either Max or Danny could. "Doesn't look like they know it, so how..."

"Scott invited Marcus to the Frontier in April. He's got two Symbols, and Greta told me about the Mega." He looked at his wrist, where the Mega Ring with Key Stone would normally be. "I'm going to guess I should tell you which Pokémon. Unless Max wants to show-off."

"I only know two, and Marcus doesn't have a heracross from what I saw," Max returned. "Is it Pinsirte?"

"Scizorite. Greta said it was the usual scizor stuff, just more powerful. How'd you fight that normally?"

Danny didn't have to think too long. "Swampert or aggron in hand-to-hand, or froslass to avoid and annoy, if houndour is out," he answered. "Hang on, what does Mega scizor even look like?"

Serena and Danny both got their Pokédex out, and Max leant over to check as well. It wasn't a big change, similar to how manectric was basically the same but different. The legs looked a bit different, and the claws definitely looked a lot different, and painful to get caught in, but the strategy should be the same. "Okay, so you're probably taking those three," Max said, and Danny hummed in agreement. "Dunno about the rest, though."

"Let's look at who you're not taking first," Ash suggested. "Narrow it down."

"Well… Not houndour, not litwick," Danny started, counting on his fingers. "Spritzee's trick won't work again. Dusclops and helioptile aren't rested… What field am I on again, tomorrow?"

"I'll check," Serena said, standing up and causing zorua to grumble. "You want me to check for you as well, Max?"

"Might as well."

Serena turned the monitor on, quickly tapping a few keys to move away from Marcus's page. "Says here you're on the grass field, Danny. And Max has water." She scoffed. "Not much of a water field. Barely any water in it."

Max had to agree. It was pretty much the standard arena taken down one size, with the difference being made up of a twenty feet deep by ten feet across moat. Swampert had trouble moving freely in something like that. It did give him an idea, but he filed it away. Now was Danny's turn. "Bet you're really wishing houndour or litwick were available now."

"Wet grass doesn't catch fire that easily," Danny countered, but Max could tell that he was of the same mind. "Anyway, that's drapion out. He needs solid ground, and that field's going to be muddy two minutes in."

"Which leaves… Which Pokémon? Exploud, diggersby..." Ash started.

"Gulpin, klefki, ferroseed, masquerain, magneton. Gulpin's got the same problem as drapion, and masquerain isn't fast enough to ignore the rain." Max glanced over at the window as Danny said that, but the rain was still not coming down. "It's supposed to last until late tomorrow, and I'm up third. Around three or so."

"Wouldn't magneton be useful? Because of the rain?" Serena asked, and zorua jumped into her lamp with a bit of a thump. "'Water conducts electricity,' or so the announcers keep on saying."

A flash blinded them and nearby thunder just about deafened them through the window and walls, and Max had to blink spots out of his eyes. "Good point," he said. "And diggersby would love the mud."

"So that leaves..." Danny said, quickly doing a count. "Klefki or ferroseed who are fully rested, and exploud, dusclops, helioptile who aren't." He sighed. "That's a tough choice. Don't think dusclops or helioptile are going to make it, though."

Brainwave. "Did ferroseed get that new trick to work?"

"What new trick?" Ash and Serena asked in unison, with the girl giggling after. "You didn't use that in the spars, right?"

The sort-of grey-haired teenager shook his head. "Ferroseed's trying to learn how to explode, but he's not able to do it without knocking himself out. The speed's okay, though."

That wasn't a problem. "So you use that as a last move. Go out with a bang."

Everyone looked at the teenager with the most battle experience for a verdict. Ash seemed a bit surprised under the sudden attention. "Marcus could be expecting it. You already did a trick like that with Destiny Bond on dusclops," he said, but Max could tell there was more to it. "But it's a good opener and if ferroseed can do what spritzee did, that's a good result for you." A quick mumble that Max didn't catch. "Does mean you're weak to Fire."

"And Marcus has a volcarona..." Danny said uncertainly. "But I'm not sure exploud's going to do much better. And I guess I'll just bench klefki because he'd also be weak to Fire."

"No need to decide now, though. I know you like choosing early, but I used to just wing it," Ash told them. "You've got something like seventeen hours until you have to choose. See how exploud is tomorrow, decide then."

Another crack of thunder, followed by a sudden patter on the window. It went from mild to _pouring_ in maybe five seconds, causing Max to double check if they had actually closed the window.

They had.

"Okay," Danny said, speaking up louder in response to the first bit of rain in weeks in the area. "You convinced me." He stretched, carefully so that he didn't deck Max. "Still, got further than I hoped and haven't had to use aggron yet."

"The two of you are each other's best rivals. You keep pushing each other to become better and better," Ash said, and this time, his pikachu joined in with the looks being given. "Hey, I can say smart stuff."

"You used up an entire month's worth," Max snarked, to raucous laughter from the yellow mouse on the floor. "But yeah. You're getting nervous for no reason. I told you you didn't need to worry about Full Battles."

"I know that," was the reply, which surprised Max. It was too certain, not slightly eye-rolly in vocal form. "Just… What did Dad call it again? Too much thinking late at night and then your brain conjures all sorts of stupid ideas." A shrug shifted the mattress slightly. "And that's very much pot and kettle."

Max couldn't deny that, and the blush gave it away to boot. He cleared his throat, knowing it wouldn't do anything to stop them if they wanted to. "So… That's Danny sorted. My turn for Cara?"

"Sure. Guessing you finally want to break out gardevoir?"

"I know this is kind of strange coming from me, but what's your plan for Dark-types with him?" Ash said, and Max half-rolled his eyes, hopefully expressing his disbelief that _Ash_ was coming up with that comment. Even with the preface. "I saw _her_ round of sixteen. Two Dark-types in five Pokémon."

"She's used three total. Weavile and honchkrow yesterday, and skuntank earlier," Max replied. "She'll probably use one or two."

"Probably not honchkrow. It got knocked out pretty hard, and manectric." A chuckle went around the room. "Any Ground-types on there apart from the flygon that she used?"

Danny shook his head, but lights flickering caused him to pause, and all of them to look at the lamps. "No," he said once it became clear it was a one-time thing. "But her starter's a jolteon. That's going to be hard for manectric."

"Still have Flamethrower. In the rain, though… Bleh." Max shook his head. "Anyway, gardevoir and manectric are in, sceptile, baltoy, vulpix, and shelgon were used yesterday, so… They're out?"

"Poliwhirl," Serena stated, jabbing a thumb in the direction of the window. "Same argument as you used for diggersby."

Yep, that was true. "Good one, Serena. And I haven't used doublade here at all, so… That's four? Not like I have to worry about her magmar." He cast his mind through who he had used so far. "Haven't used meowstic either."

"Leaning into that Dark-type weakness..." Serena said, unconvinced. "Right Ash?"

Ash nodded, but Danny beat him to the punch of saying something. "Hang on. It could actually work out. If we think about it, you'd only expect Max to use two Psychic-types, right?" Two nods of agreement from Max and Ash. "But would you expect doublade _and_ two?"

The Frontier Brain in the room seemed torn. "I don't know, Danny… That's a lot of wishful thinking." He sighed. "But I know Max is convinced, and honestly… Gardevoir can probably knock out one Pokémon and do a good bit with a second one." A shrug. "And that's all you need. Either of you. I wouldn't have won two Leagues if my opponents had been as tenacious as you at holding an advantage."

"Let's hope it's enough, then," Danny said, but Max could tell that he, too, was feeling a bit embarrassed by the praise. "Or we'll go out with heads held high."

 **~~§~~§~~**

There was one thing that had kind of confused Max when he'd been looking at Cara's Pokémon. For someone who had come from Prudan with its Pokémon, she didn't have a lot of ones that he knew lived there – or at least as far as Hugo had told him. But the announcer for their match – a woman, which was definitely a rarity – went into a bit of an explanation of who both battlers were before the match.

He'd walked up through the tunnel, stopping just around a corner, only to hear a list of some of his Pokémon, and his results in Kalos and Hoenn being discussed. She then followed it up with Cara's file, revealing that she'd only moved to Prudan a few years back. Cara had been born there, but her parents had migrated when she was seven, and so the younger her had left to travel in the Home Regions before returning to the other end of the planet.

And now she was back, having blazed through the Gyms in two months flat, and from overhearing a discussion while he was getting breakfast in the Center, Max gathered that some or another website favoured her to win the match.

Well then, time to prove them wrong.

The rain hadn't stopped, though the wind had, making it now come down basically straight. Luckily, the organisation provided them with rain coats, but unfortunately, it was still pretty warm, making the plastic coats uncomfortable as hell. They didn't have hoods either, and for some reason, there wasn't one in Max's size, meaning that he had to hike it up to get to his belt and that the lower end came perilously close to the ground.

Honestly, it felt like someone had just taken a trip to the nearest large town and bought a couple without taking the Trainers in the quarter-finals into account.

Ten steps into the raucous arena – which wasn't rain-proofed either, leaving everyone on the front rows wet – Max already felt soaked, but he made his way over to the box without tripping over his feet. Cara was already there, her violently blue hair serving as a beacon between all the grey.

She had to go first, choosing a flying Pokémon that wouldn't care one bit about the rain: her skarmory.

The plan that they'd come up with called for revealing doublade and meowstic early, and though Max had wanted to start with ninjask in case the rain became worse – the forecast wasn't certain on that – he couldn't justify it into a Steel-type.

Meowstic would do, though. Skarmory were pretty light for Steel-types, meaning she could even try to move it instead of just hurting it, and the moat on the sides looked like a good place to dump it in. "Stay close to the water," he ordered as the match officially begun, with Cara's Pokémon flying high into the air, hiding from Max's sight in the rain.

The white-and-blue feline didn't care, instead setting up a pair of barriers: Light Screen on the outside, Reflect just inside that, close enough that it was tricky to spot even with good visibility. The area she'd given herself was about twenty feet across, which was more than enough to dodge any ranged attacks that did make it through.

A set of Swift starts flew out from the rain, revealing skarmory's location, but they found the barriers that had been set up; the smaller ones vanishing, the larger ones falling easy prey to a psionic sweep before meowstic took a step outside of her bubble, launching a Disarming Voice into the rain.

Skarmory did a half-roll to avoid it, best Max could tell, before gaining a lot of speed all of a sudden – Agility, probably – and vanishing from his sight, back into the rain.

It reappeared in Max's vision the moment it struck through the Reflect with a snap that sent the entire barrier shattering and fading, but the Agility-aided Aerial Ace missed meowstic despite its reputation for never doing so. Barely, and the white Pokémon was close enough that the wind unbalanced her, but she was safe, dropping the Light Screen and sending a burst of Disarming Voice after the flying Pokémon.

Unfortunately, skarmory was too fast, and Max saw it wheel around near him, unleashing a quick Swift attack to keep the Psychic-type busy while also going back in; this time with a glowing wing, and the combination was successful to some extent. Meowstic was clipped, but it didn't do much, and without the extra speed, a burst of psionic energy was able to catch up, instantly creating a downward pressure that failed to do anything but lower the altitude of the flier.

Again it wheeled, but this time, something else came out: something Dark-typed. "They can learn Dark Pulse?" Max mused out loud as the attack was swatted aside by a Disarming Voice. Then he shook his head, feeling droplets of water fly from his hair, and started formulating a plan.

Two came to him almost immediately, both looking to take advantage of the flyby nature of skarmory's attacks. One was harder to execute, though, and he shelved it for later. "Light Screen, no Reflect," he said, and meowstic dutifully did so. "Now wait."

A tentative Dark Pulse went out, but Disarming Voice wasn't needed. Swift was swatted away as well, and meowstic tried a few long-range attacks of her own while waiting for Cara's Pokémon to take the bait.

It took a minute, but in the end, the Steel-type slipped into an Agility again, but this time, the angle was lower, and with a Steel Wing. Didn't matter. "Jump!"

The landing wasn't perfect – on the wing that wasn't glowing white, but before skarmory could do anything to deal with its unwanted passenger, meowstic unleashed a Psychic. Muscles stopped working, locked in mental agony, and flight quickly turned into a crash-landing that flung meowstic off. She used her powers to cushion the landing, then gathered them into a spear that went straight for a silver torso, connecting just as it tried to get up again.

The Dark Pulse follow-up hollowed out the second barrage of psionic power – its weakness the only reason that some still connected, but the hold Max's Pokémon went for was too weak and the Armor Bird took to the sky again, quickly using Agility to get out of range.

And wheeling back fast, this time going for a _triple_ combination: Steel Wing, Agility, and Aerial Ace.

But the moat was maybe ten feet away, directly behind her. "Spike up!"

It was painful to see something just over his weight crash into meowstic with that speed, but the spike had disrupted the attack enough that it was no longer wings or beak that hit her first: it was the upper half of the body as skarmory went into a wild vertical spin. Meowstic was under it for a moment before both of them hit the water.

Where she had all the cards, and skarmory none.

Meowstic left the water first, shooting out of it by what could only be psychically-aided momentum off of something solid, and she landed, before creating an aura of blue around her.

Max couldn't fully see it, unfortunately, thanks to the rain, so he went to the next best thing. "And meowstic is keeping skarmory in the water. It's taking all her strength to do so, but the Steel-type is stuck in there, and now its head goes under. Bad news for Cara: skarmory needs to snap out of it or it'll be ruled out!"

Max counted the seconds, and at fourteen, the referee's flag went up. "Skarmory has been retired. Meowstic wins."

It was kind of Cara to not have meowstic use sixteen more seconds of her power to make it a Technical Knock-Out, but if a Pokémon couldn't escape in the first ten seconds, it probably wouldn't later either. Not in the water without anything to use as leverage, not without breath. And she probably recognised that too.

"Ruthless, but fair fighting here. Using the field to his advantage, Max's meowstic forced skarmory into a position it had no power in after two well thought-out counters to this Flying-type's best weapon: momentum. It's Cara's turn to select a Pokémon again, and will she choose a Dark-type to counter one of the three Psychic-types that have been used so far?"

Okay, Max _liked_ this announcer, if only for not actually referencing his or Danny's age every single recap. The accurate summary of what happened helped.

He wasn't surprised when skuntank came out, and he gave meowstic, who had helpfully moved closer to him, a look. It didn't reveal too much, and he snapped his fingers to catch her attention. "You okay to go on?"

She nodded, but hesitated first – which told him that she'd rather rest, but that she'd could still fight. She didn't make a motion towards him though, which would've told Max that she didn't want to fight something that had such a big advantage over her.

The choice was all his.

And he kept her in. "Go to the water," he told her before signalling that he wasn't making a substitution after all.

Skuntank rushed forward with impunity, using a Flamethrower to get rid of the weak Disarming Voice that meowstic sent its way before unleashing a Snarl that meowstic barely avoided with a deft roll, at the cost of letting Cara's Pokémon come closer than was comfortable.

But she knew her Trainer's mind, and Max didn't even need to tell her before she hauled a large globe of water out of the moat and gave the skunk a very unwilling bath with considerable force before grabbing some more and shaping it into a vaguely whip-like thing.

Skuntank responded by using a Snarl to try and disrupt the psychic construct, but meowstic yanked it and moved herself out of the way before bringing it down on the purple Pokémon's nose as it tried to get another ranged attack in.

That tore it, and the Skunk Pokémon rushed in with a Night Slash on its claws, and in the blink of an eye, it slashed meowstic twice, sending a Flamethrower after when a blind pulse downwards sent Max's Pokémon hurtling away. The fire was barely diverted in time, and a roll avoided a Snarl at the cost of being grazed by some rock chips.

Then meowstic stood up, and stood still.

Skuntank gleefully unleashed a Snarl, but the Dark-type move didn't stop Max's Pokémon from belting it with a block of water compressed to probably be hard as ice. Twice.

Then it fell apart, and Cara's Pokémon cleaned up with another Snarl, but Max returned her, not even wanting to wait and returning the favour that his opponent had done him earlier. His first Psychic-type had done enough despite already taking out skarmory.

Now it was time to take advantage of the weather.

Poliwhirl was in her element, and she shot off like a bullet the moment she was allowed to, sliding across the arena at speeds that caused the announcer to gasp, and the audience to laugh when she overshot straight into the moat behind skuntank after a surprisingly nimble dodge. The Snarl did nothing, and Max's Pokémon surfaced fifteen feet away from the impact, unleashing a Water Gun straight at the nearby skuntank.

The skunk withstood the attack, moving in with a Poison Jab the moment that the Water Gun ended, but poliwhirl dove back into the water before repeating the previous sequence.

The Dark-type moved back to the middle of the arena, also moving back towards the other end of the arena a bit so Max couldn't see it as easily, but he knew where it was and where it would stay: as far away from the water as possible to make sure that poliwhirl couldn't use the moat as get-out-of-attacks free terrain.

Not that it mattered. She had this in the bag.

Sliding towards the middle, she was intercepted by a Snarl, but the attack didn't stop her. Instead, she crashed bodily into skuntank, which sent both of them onto the ground, but poliwhirl, having been prepared for it, recovered far faster and managed to unleash a powerful Water Gun to blast skuntank back several feet from pure pressure. A Bubblebeam also connected before a Snarl and a Water Pulse blew up on each other.

Skuntank rushed through the explosion with something on its claws, and poliwhirl dodged it with a quick drop onto the ground, giving herself a little push with and causing Cara's Pokémon to miss entirely before being hit from behind, causing it to jump up and around.

Max took his glasses off, moving them underneath the coat and wiping them on his shirt to get the moisture that had accumulated off, but even with his terrible vision, he could still see that the battle was going his way. The way that he knew skuntank was moving was enough proof: too erratic to be anything but on a harsh defence against a poliwhirl as fully in her element as she could be outside of a body of water. The rain helped her sustain attacks for longer, allowing her to put more into them, and Water Absorb was almost unfair in the heavy rain that was coming down.

It took a few more exchanges, during which Max's Pokémon did get hit with two Snarls and one set of slashes, which was worrying because he had seen Poison Jab, before the skuntank fell, exhausted, battered, and washed up.

If he hadn't been certain that Cara was going to save jolteon for when manectric would appear if possible, he would've expected it to be sent out now. As it was, he lazily pointed his Pokédex at the opposing Pokémon, ignored the chattering about how granbull were actually timid – true though it was to the best of his knowledge – and checked what moves they could learn.

Thunder Fang was on there, and apparently, so was Thunderbolt, as granbull opened with it the moment it was allowed to. It was a shot from long range, poliwhirl having retreated to Max's end of the arena after skuntank fell and the rain had subsided to be the least dense it had been all battle long, but it undoubtedly set the tone for what was to come. "Midrange fight."

Granbull tried for another electrocution before poliwhirl got at her preferred range, and she started the offensive with a Water Pulse into Bubblebeam combination that forced the Fairy-type to roll under the first and power through the second in order to try and get at her, but before it could even lunge forward, poliwhirl skated on off on the soaked arena floor.

But Cara didn't get here for nothing, and after skuntank's trouncing, she was eager for payback. Granbull shot into motion, moving far faster than Max had expected it to go, and it intercepted poliwhirl, delivering a single Thunder Fang before being blasted off bodily. It stuck the landing, and again, it crossed the distance at a far more rapid pace than Max would've held possible.

This time, Water Pulse intercepted it, exploding in the Fairy-type's face, which allowed poliwhirl to hurl herself away, stopping only when she'd crossed half the arena and then having to side-step a Thunderbolt sent her way.

Huh. Granbull's approach was a lot slower this time. "Long range now."

A Water Pulse bombardment ensued, poliwhirl staying put and lobbing them at first, forcing the purple-pink Pokémon to move to the side as it approached. Nothing really hit, but some were close.

When her opponent came too close for her liking, poliwhirl dropped onto her belly, used Water Gun, and instantly went for another location in the arena. The first time she did so, she passed within ten feet of granbull, but sadly, it didn't make an attempt to lunge for her.

Poliwhirl would've loved that.

It was an unceasing assault, and tiring because of it, Max knew. There was only so much Water Absorb could do, and skuntank had left marks too, as had the Thunder Fang. But poliwhirl's unrelenting offence was something that the granbull seemed to have some trouble dealing with. Maybe it was too used to being on the offensive itself, or maybe the Water-type was too slippery for it, but unless Cara came up with something, they'd go into the break with Max up two – barely – Pokémon.

At the fifth time poliwhirl switched positions, the jig was up. She waited just a bit too long, and before she could do a belly flop, granbull Roared, startling poliwhirl and causing her to fall backwards onto her bum.

It was the one moment that granbull needed, and it struck with Thunder Fang before going into an Outrage to cause it to be uncaring of anything that poliwhirl flung at it. She did try, but Water Gun didn't have enough strength to push back an unleashed rampaging Pokémon weighing as much as Max did, while Water Pulse and Bubblebeam connected, but did nothing to deter the Fairy-type.

So she settled to get as many hits in as she possibly could, Max could tell.

"Granbull delivers a nasty swipe, poliwhirl throwing a pu – Bubble in return as it goes down to the ground. Cara's Pokémon pounces, pushes through the Water Gun, and that should be it!"

It was, but even from a distance, Max could tell that granbull was extremely tired and unlikely to get better even with rest. He knew the stance well enough, having seen it so many times on sceptile and manectric in the past.

If she was anything like him, Cara wouldn't switch it out. She'd want information on the next Pokémon, and maybe get a hit on one of Max's weaker Pokémon if possible. It would fall instantly to anything truly top-tier anyway.

Ninjask went out, ninjask released a spray of Shadow Balls, ninjask was grazed by a few Stone Edge shards, and ninjask made the score three to two.

"Why didn't it use Stone Edge against poliwhirl?" Danny wondered as Max sat down on a wet bench, giving Max a bottle of water before reaching down and also handing over a covered bowl. "Not enough time?"

Max shrugged, which was very weird with the coat. "That's my guess. Poliwhirl was relentless. Don't mess with Water-types in the rain, sheesh."

"Think you proved that alright," Danny observed drily. "I don't think Cara is out of it, though. She gave up granbull a little too eagerly."

This time, Max resisted the urge to shrug, but he did feed a strawberry from the bowl to ninjask, who happily scarfed it down. "We'll see. I'm feeling good with what I have left."

"Not disagreeing there. And don't think I missed that little defend-and-counter bit from meowstic."

They laughed, remembering the time when meowstic had done the same against ferroseed, while she was still getting Reflect down. That had ended in Max actually forbidding her to do that because the goal had been for her to defend, and not hit Danny's Pokémon. "Well, it worked. I'll take it."

"Pragmatic."

No other words were said as Max chose to get some food in him – he had eaten beforehand, but battles cost energy even for Trainers and he was a teenager.

"Ninjask returns to the field in the light rain, which is supposed to hold like this for about the next thirty minutes. What Pokémon will Cara send out?"

The answer was a weezing, which made Max instantly wary. They had deceptively deep move pools, including Destiny Bond – as Danny had found out at the Battle Chateau – and Flamethrower, as manectric had found out in the Kalos League semi-finals. They also had the usual slew of poisonous gases at their disposal, and the odds of something exploding in the match had significantly gone up as well.

The trick, then, was to be fast, stay sharp, and probably strike from range most of the time. Ninjask only had Shadow Ball that could do that, but he could work with it. Easily.

The downside to weezing was that they weren't the most mobile in the air, being forced to rely on actual moves to defend itself most of the time. Generic sludge worked well enough to block the long-range Shadow Balls that ninjask sent out as soon as the battle was on. "Just Shadow Ball. Don't get fancy."

It wasn't a Contest where repeated moves cost you points.

But again, Cara was no fool. Her weezing cloaked itself in smoke as soon as ninjask flew off, expelling a ton of it that ended up covering a full third of the arena, at least fifteen feet into the sky.

What was this? Memory lane? Max resisted the urge to chuckle as he remembered another time this had happened against him; with ninjask involved too. And he'd picked up quite a few tricks since that time fighting Flannery. "Let's flush it out."

The speedy Bug-type flew above the smoke, before charging up a set of Shadow Balls and starting a descent, accelerating as he did so. Then he started firing them into the cloud as he went, continuously making and releasing, firing and hoping he'd hit anything.

There was a hit, as Max saw his Pokémon zip upwards, holding onto the Shadow Ball he'd been creating, then flipping over and unleashing it at a far larger size than it had previously been.

It met an obstacle on the way, and the explosion took all sight of ninjask away until he flew back into vision by retreating towards Max. He was unscathed, and immediately turned around to build and release yet another Shadow Ball.

That one caught weezing – now visible because of the explosion whipping away the smokescreen it had thrown up – by the very edge of its body, while a Sludge Bomb shot out in return.

But speed was a powerful advantage, and there was no way that was ever going to hit ninjask. It did buy weezing enough time to reapply the smokescreen, and a moment later, history started to repeat itself.

"Ninjask again flies up above the cloud of smoke, and there's the Shadow Balls that it favours in this match-up. It seems that Max has decided that cautious and steady wins the race, and with him a Pokémon up, it's up to Cara to make a move happen!"

Which, as she had done before, happened, but it was two minutes after the announcer had asked that question, during which ninjask had continued his attacks unopposed, alternating patterns to make sure that he wasn't going to get caught out like that and probably creating a good amount of small craters on the floor near Cara.

Weezing had seemingly hidden itself at the very top of the cloud, and when ninjask flew over, maybe five feet higher, it shot upwards, cloaked in… "They learn _Thunderbolt?_ " Max exclaimed as ninjask put on a burst of speed that at least made it avoid the electricity at the cost of losing its attack run and having to make a very awkward turn at the shielding. "Fine. Ninjask, avoidance."

One became six, all charging a Shadow Ball while weezing started trying to predict two things: which ninjask was real and where he and his doubles would fly. The first attempt at doing so failed miserably, though, as a Sludge Bomb passed through two fakes and a single Shadow Ball hit weezing in return, forcing it down and allowing ninjask to shuffle itself back into hiding.

He was able to do the trick twice more, as Cara had abandoned the smokescreen strategy for some reason, instead preferring to try and get hits on ninjask in. One eventually landed, as a semi-unexpected Flamethrower made its appearance, hitting ninjask fully for just a moment before inertia carried him out of it.

Then, and only then, did it reapply the smokescreen while ninjask sped off in order to not be set on fire again.

The small bug stopped by Max for a moment, and he took note of how much damage even that brief moment had done. It wasn't a lot, but ninjask _was_ flagging a bit. A look at his wings showed why: the rain, though not as persistent as earlier, was starting to soak into them. Ninjask wings being as thin as they were… This hindered a lot, forcing him to expend more energy. "Okay. Try to do as much as you can."

Ninjask was always going to do that, Max knew, and he flew off, splitting off into five as he did so, before heading for the smaller smokescreen that had been thrown up. The five were decently far apart so that no one attack could hit them all, and soon the Shadow Balls started flying anew.

And then, suddenly, a burst of flame turned black into blinding red and an explosion, forcing Max to close his eyes.

He listened to the announcer, and as had happened before, she informed the audience of what had happened, which was the same thing as Max thought had happened.

Toxic gases. probably some invisible top layer that ninjask couldn't easily detect, open fire, boom, knocked-out Bug-type.

Simple, effective, and a Team Rocket staple because of it.

But Max had a Pokémon that was pretty good into toxic gases on account of not needing to breathe. The Flamethrower was a problem, sure, but doublade was agile enough to avoid most of that while on his way to get in close, where only Thunderbolt could be an issue. No more hide-and-seek in smokescreens.

True to form, weezing tried to set the Steel-type on fire, but with an early split of blades that was avoided, and Cara's Poison-type soon found itself under assault from two independently-acting swords. One was using Night Slash, the other stuck with regular old cutting.

And it was leaving doublade unopp... "STOP!"

Too late. Weezing fell as a Night Slash connected, but not before it could trigger the Destiny Bond.

Max glanced in the direction of Danny, who responded by planting his hand onto his forehead.

"Cara finally seems to catch Max off his guard as the battered weezing throws in a Destiny Bond to get rid of the doublade. The match is tied again, at two Pokémon apiece!"

Max returned doublade without a word, taking a moment to calm his raging nerves and to assess everything.

The field? Mostly intact, except for craters over on Cara's side.

The opposing Pokémon? Jolteon and probably something else hard-hitting. Maybe the weavile, definitely not the blastoise – that would've come out earlier because it was dead weight now with manectric looming – possibly the probopass or the tangrowth. He'd really hoped to have doublade to scout.

The stakes? Pretty high, with a semi-final spot for whoever won.

He was ready.

Vaguely, Max heard the referee ask for both Trainers to select their Pokémon, which he did, keeping the Friend Ball shrunken for now, though he quickly flashed it in the direction of the third one in a rain coat present at the arena's edge.

"Send out your Pokémon."

"Gardevoir, I choose you!"

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

Name: Cara Sinclair

Age: 23

Region: Kanto/Prudan

Trainer Class:Ace

Style: Pressure/Counterpressure

Odds: 16-1

Notes: Flying through the Gym challenge in two months after a previous League, Sinclair is hungry for a victory after ending on the podium two times in a row in Prudan. She specialises in finding the right moment to strike back and then take over the fight. If left unchecked, she can quickly run away with a battle, but her Pokémon have been observed to have slight weaknesses to speedster-style opponents. Still, the quality and breadth of her team make her someone you can never count out until it is over.

Pokémon to watch: jolteon, weezing, honchkrow

From: _Pokébet's_ profile of Cara Sinclair, retrieved prior to the start of the Silver Conference.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Or, that one chapter with all the Destiny Bonds. Bit of a tit-for-tat there, with karma coming back to bite Max in the rear end after all. Don't celebrate too soon, people: it isn't over until the portulent madame sings.

Also, yes, weezing can have ridiculous movesets. It's not quite rhydon-uses-Surf levels, but it's close.

-Edit- No update last weekend of March. Real life getting in the way.


	29. A Worthy Result

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 28: A Worthy Result**

Gardevoir appeared on the field, and just the sight of him was enough to calm most of Max's remaining annoyance at himself for missing the obvious earlier.

The opponent was going to be a probopass. One of the heaviest Pokémon he knew of, but it didn't move very fast because of that. They sometimes moved around through Magnet Rise, but it'd be risky against a Psychic-type: the reduced friction that came from being airborne instead of on the ground could turn that into a free trip elsewhere.

Best Max could guess, it probably had a variety of attacks to use from range.

The start was something vaguely Steel-type looking; grey zooming towards gardevoir, who tried to affect it with some psionic energy. That didn't work the way he wanted it to, but a last-second hard block caused energy to whip at him.

Then, Max saw the Lock-On appear. "Block, then mental attacks."

A Zap Cannon was launched, meeting a sudden bright flare of blue. Both attacks pulsed before bursting outwards, displacing all the water in their vicinity and blocking Max's sight of the Rock and Steel-type Pokémon. Gardevoir wasn't hindered, though, and he sent forth a careful probe, seeking to get inside his opponent's head. Either to confuse and daze, or to inflict pain.

Max hadn't ever felt Psychic for himself, thankfully, but gardevoir was pretty good – if blunt – at making people doubt which way was up.

A bout of uncontrolled electricity – Discharge maybe – shot out from probopass, severing the probe, but the Embrace Pokémon took it in stride, switching from offence to defence effortlessly as a Tri Attack traced through the air. Again, he went for the heavy psionic block, overpowering it and causing the elemental energy to be snuffed out. He then tried for another probe.

He was looking to confuse and daze. Probopass wouldn't have reacted as quickly otherwise, nor would gardevoir levitate almost lazily.

Discharge again made sure that the attack didn't stick for too long, and Max realised the path into probopass's brain was closed for now. Not without creating a distraction first. It was also making sure that it wasn't offering up anything that gardevoir could use to redirect, excepting Zap Cannon, but that was – as Max saw happen even as he thought it – always preceded by a Lock-On that would force a block or a hit. Even through Teleport.

Which was weird, but okay.

"More precise blocks, slowly move to the side," Max said calmly, and gardevoir did just that, catching the implied command of not using Teleport.

The Steel-type attacks – Magnet Bombs, probably – were probopass's bread and butter, and as it launched more and more of them, they started coming faster and faster, as if it were done warming up and now shooting the projectiles at full throttle. A couple made it through, but deft movement was enough to create narrow misses in a few cases.

In total, two hit, glancing on the left arm and left wrist. It happened.

The most important part was that gardevoir now had his back to the water, and probopass had followed, turning very slowly to match the movement of Max's Pokémon. And what they hadn't shown yet, even if Cara should suspect it, was the ability to change place in an instant.

"Teleport opposite, and use water."

As he ordered, so it happened, with gardevoir waiting until the Compass Pokémon had launched another rapid-fire Magnet Bomb before switching to the other side of the arena, immediately turning considerable psionic might into grabbing and throwing an orb of water from the moat straight at the stationary Pokémon.

A blind omnidirectional Hidden Power impacted the globe, but not in time, and most of it still splashed probopass, and immediately, gardevoir pounced with another psionic probe, going in for a Psychic, and Cara's Pokémon let out a low and loud moan in pain, before trying again to dislodge the attack.

It worked, but the water fed some of the electricity back into itself, which caused it to visibly startle. "Go!"

Another Teleport, not quite directly behind probopass, and gardevoir pushed in with a Confusion that was blocked by Hidden Power. Undeterred, he launched another psychic attack, but Max could tell it wasn't the same, even from three quarters of a field away.

The spike shot through the defences with ease, landing on probopass's domed head, and making the heavy Pokémon wobble. This caused just a moment in which it was off-balance, first physically, and from that, mentally, and that's when the real Psychic struck.

A Discharge was launched, but gardevoir held on through it, and through the electricity that eventually struck him as the magnetism-aided Pokémon put more strength into it; blindly and almost helplessly in an attempt to make the pain stop.

But it wasn't enough, and it slumped after a good half-minute of a continuous mental barrage, and about fifteen seconds of slowly dying electricity. Which was something he was used to, having manectric as a usual sparring partner.

"That is one _nasty_ Psychic. Sinking mental teeth into probopass, gardevoir got in and stayed in despite the Discharge. A disciplined show from this unshown Pokémon!"

The Psychic-type reappeared near Max, as close as could be to the moat. Up close, he looked a bit more battered than hoped, but there was no tired sagging from lack of psionic energy. He'd probably used up a lot, but as it turned out, even half a minute of Psychic was nowhere near as draining as keeping a four hundred and sixty pound Dragon flying at speed at bay for longer than that. He had a good bit left in the tank. "You know what to do."

Jolteon came out, as expected, and Max smiled.

Hopefully not a kind one either. This was going to be good. For him.

One: jolteon was lighter, though smaller, than manectric. That made getting grabbed psionically very risky, because you could get flung away easily. That led to two: it would probably rely on speed and continuous attacks to keep gardevoir on the defensive. Which was generally how a jolteon did best anyway.

But so did manectric and Ash's pikachu, and Max had plenty of experience with what made the strategy good and what its weaknesses were. He was ready.

The only snag in the plan was that jolteon opened with a Shadow Ball as it started running, which wasn't a problem at long range – and Max really didn't know why Cara had revealed it this early – but would be an issue because it would disrupt Psychic energy to the point where blocking might not work.

Following that, and with a burst of speed that made Max expect Agility was in play, the usual Electric Pokémon attacks began. Thunderbolt dodged, Thunderbolt blocked, then… Zap Cannon? He hadn't even known jolteon could learn that, but gardevoir wasn't caught off guard like he was, vanishing in a snap and reappearing ten feet to the right. "Stay near water."

Now getting fairly close, the yellow electric-type started mixing in white projectiles – Pin Missiles – and actually dangerous Shadow Balls. A couple of the former shot through after being angled around the block gardevoir put up, but the Ghost-type move landed in the moat, splashing water onto the shields to Max's right, thanks to a quick Teleport.

It had been expected. Jolteon used the moment of movement to stop and concentrate, and a blinding bar of furious Thunder erupted, moving fast and nearly catching gardevoir before he was able to throw up a block.

Then things went according to plan.

Moving forward, gardevoir collapsed the psionic energy into a shield around himself, and the electricity snapped and crackled around him, but there was no actual contact made. Once passed through, Max's Pokémon shattered the shield, sending the trails of energy outward, forcing jolteon to choose being hit or to go into the air – it chose the former – and then he went on the offensive.

A crackling layer surrounded Cara's Pokémon, but gardevoir wasn't going for anything that would grab just yet. Instead, he sent out psionic spikes, forcing the agile Pokémon to start moving. Then he added thin horizontal lines to the mix at leg height, designed to make small and agile Pokémon trip while running.

He gestured here and there, directing his attacks to annoy the jolteon, whose offence had completely vanished in the face of the threat. It and Cara both recognised that being flung onto the ground would be a problem, but they hadn't found a good counter yet. Time to press the advantage. "Corral it."

Helped by his opponent already being near the left-hand moat, gardevoir created a pair of oversized sweeps barely to jolteon's right, forcing the Electric-type to end up right near the water, into a corner.

And that's when he struck with Psychic.

It didn't connect for long, and the axiom of a cornered Pokémon being dangerous definitely applied, as a Thunderbolt shot forward even before the attack connected, but they traded hits, and jolteon jerked, nearly falling into the water.

A snap Teleport forward brought the green and white Pokémon just feet away from jolteon, and a psionic pulse _pushed_ everything away from him. Including the Pokémon that was attempting to beat a hasty retreat.

It ended up in the water about fifteen feet away from gardevoir; further than Max had hoped for when he saw his Pokémon disappear and reappear, but it was close enough. As the first battle had ended, so did they intend to end this. "Keep it in!"

Another Teleport, avoiding a major stream of Discharge electricity but ending in a smaller one, and then Cara's last Pokémon was forced under the water's surface, even as it created a beautiful shot with the lightning from turbulent waters. The adjustment also took the Discharge off of gardevoir, which enabled him to keep going.

After fifteen seconds, Cara returned her Pokémon.

"As he started it, so does he end it! Amazing underhanded use of terrain in this match by the youngest contestant left, and the jolteon that looked raring to go is forced into a Technical Knock Out situation! In a straight up fight, its freshness would have beaten this gardevoir, but recognising that, Pokémon and Trainer expertly forced it into the water. Max Maple from Petalburg, Hoenn, is your first semi-finalist!"

The crowd roared, and Max's spirits soared. Back to back, and in a harder tournament to boot. This was what his Pokémon and him could do. "Amazing, as always," he said, returning gardevoir into the Friend Ball. "Take a rest."

Then he tried to put the ball back on his belt, only for the magnet to not hook onto it. Strange. He'd have to check that later. First, though…

Danny's smile split his face as Max walked up, pokéball shrunk in one hand. "That was awesome! How'd you even think of that for probopass?"

"Needs must, y'know," Max retorted, but he shared the smile. Danny's hand landed on his raincoat-covered shoulder with a wet squelch. "Had the idea last night. When Serena told me about the field. It's just normal environment use, but because probopass wasn't giving gardevoir any debris and because it would've done jack shit…"

"Yeah, it would've," Danny agreed, and there was something in his voice – and face – that Max couldn't identify. It was positive and warm, but maybe that was also the rain getting to him. "Not losing your head after that weezing was pretty good too." He smirked. "Though with who you had left, it'd be more surprising if you hadn't."

That was entirely too true. "Like you don't have the same for some of yours," Max shot back without heat. "And I don't know about you, but I'm going to take a shower. A long one."

"You've earned it," Danny said with a shrug. "Don't forget to smile and wave at your adoring fans."

A snort escaped him, but when Max did do just that, the controlled chaos of the five digit number audience turned into a mixture of cheers and applause.

 **~~§~~§~~**

"Well," Keith said as the television cut to a quick news break. "Guess we finally have that answer about what it would've been like if Max did find that ralts. That looked unfai… What are you doing?"

His girlfriend had suddenly gone for her pack, taking out a sheet of paper and her pencils she used to start the process. "Had an idea. Finally. Now quiet."

"Yes, Ma'am," Keith muttered, just loud enough that he knew his girlfriend could hear it. That was it, though. He didn't dare stop her now that she finally had found the inspiration that she'd lacked for over two weeks with her drawings of everyone involved in Geosenge.

There was the one of himself, on the City Hall stairs. She'd finished that first, and Keith had shipped it off home moment they were in a town that stocked art supplies and travel tubes or whatever they were called. Max's had been next; a sideways profile in destroyed Geosenge under yveltal's shadow, a faint glow coming from a trouser pocket. Then she'd drawn Serena, scared but determined in an open indoor space. It was the museum in Durocor that the Kalosian teenager herself had suggested – after three minutes of trying to convince Jane that she didn't have to. Maël had been in a museum too, next to a window hinting at the destruction caused.

The last one before now had been Jane herself. Keith still didn't like that she'd drawn herself looking at her leg after the fighting was over in a heavily, _heavily_ damaged room. It had been where she and Danny had held the line for a while, and she said she'd been trying to capture the wonder of finding out your wounds were just gone, but… It made her look weaker than she was, in Keith's opinion, and that wasn't fair.

But Danny, she'd not been able to capture. Which was weird, because they both knew him pretty well. Max would drag you into trouble, Danny would make sure you got back out. And he was always so content, so… okay with everything that went on. Keith knew that he probably wasn't, because nobody could be that perfect, but it was a tough wall to crack. And he still seemed sincere in everything.

Okay, maybe it was a bit too much for someone their age, but Keith could really see the future Professor in him.

He left Jane to her drawing, instead going outside into a pretty okay Sinnoh summer day. The wind kept the temperature down a bit, causing small waves on the water. The other side of Route 218 was visible in the distance.

They could have gotten to Canalave today. It wasn't that far away from where they were. But when one of your friends was this far in a League, you tried to watch. When two of them were, you dropped everything for it if you could.

Some small part of Keith hoped that they would be able to return the favour even a bit, but looking at it for real… They didn't have the quality. Sure, they'd improved a lot, and he was still a tiny bit sour that he'd faced the eventual winner in Kalos, but from what he'd seen… Getting an extension would be hard. It'd be impossible if it was put to the top 16, but top 32 wasn't too much better.

They could make it some more months until their grants ran out. There was the money from Kalos – some of it at least – and Keith had been careful to save as much as he could. After that, they'd need to return home and start preparing for the rest of their life.

Which was scary, but not as much as it could've been, he thought. Geosenge had seen to that.

A ball hit his shins, knocking him out of thought as it bounced away. Looking left, he saw two boys of probably just twelve, one of them coming up. "Sorry about that!" was shouted at him in a voice so high it caused Keith to shake his head that his had ever been that same pitch.

Oh, what the hell. It wasn't like he had anything to do. Jane'd get him for Danny's quarter-final anyway, and he needed to burn a bit of energy. "Can I join?"

"Sure!"

The boys worked together against him – of course – but it was all fun. Crobat helping to get the ball off the roof after one of them punted it up there was the call for the game to stop and the questions to start. As expected. Being that new to travelling and having a friendly older Trainer available… Keith had asked a few questions in his time. He was glad to help others now.

Jane eventually came to get him. "Boy things?" she asked.

"New Trainer things," Keith replied, feeling sweat in his hair cool as the air conditioning started to work on it. "Best friends who left together from some really small mining town to the south. Homeschooled. Seeing crobat kind of surprised them."

"Why?"

Did he want to or not? "It's a mining town. They only really knew zubat as…" He paused, screwing up his voice. "Damn pests."

Jane giggled as they headed up the stairs. "Is that your impression of them?"

"It's my impression of them doing an impression of some adult. And they just wanted to know why I even captured a zubat."

"What'd you tell them?"

"The truth that I'd just wanted him out of my hair. Literally."

 **~~§~~§~~**

The rain was definitely worse than it had been earlier when Max had been battling, and it was only going to get worse if the forecast that was being broadcast in the stadium was right. It was actually warning people that were sitting in the lower rows to move away or risk getting seriously wet – even more than they already were, probably.

Danny glanced a look over at the first semi-finalist, whose opponent had been decided in the match before this one. His best friend was sitting in the same spot as he had been earlier, but instead of keeping his feet on the ground, he'd settled in by using the bench as a footrest. Unorthodox, but practical – he probably didn't want to get soaked feet, and the wind was right enough that he'd get that normally, while his body would stay mostly dry. That hadn't changed in two hours.

Danny had to send his Pokémon out first. Ferroseed appeared on the grassy field that was already looking like it was turning into mud, and it was met with a wormadam. The Sandy cloak variety, if his memory was right. He didn't think he'd ever fought one of them – any variation – before, though he'd seen a few in Kalos. From what he knew, they disliked moving as well, but could be fairly nasty up close too.

Should be a fun match for ferroseed.

The Grass/Steel-type started by closing the distance with some Gyro Ball movement to make sure that he was resilient to anything that the wormadam might throw out, and he was proven right when several rocks impacted him mid-field; aim fairly easy because ferroseed was relying on his trick and defences to make up for the straight path. Which it did. "Pin Missile."

The moment that ferroseed stopped spinning, he launched a set of Pin Missile; a quartet of projectiles making their way to wormadam. A Rock Blast blocked these, but ferroseed added a blast of Bullet Seeds through the dust cloud.

Whatever happened, wormadam was able to throw in something that looked like Signal Beam – pink and bright blue standing out in the dreary grey-brown-green of the arena. Danny's Pokémon instinctively blocked it with a Protect, but that meant Earth Power wasn't able to be blocked, and ferroseed had to sit through the attack as the field rearranged itself slightly.

Wormadam had positioned itself up higher, maybe four feet, but that was an advantage with the sudden appearance of a small cliff. "Gyro Ball."

The spin started, and ferroseed moved forward faster than he had before, but instead of jumping up, he went for the rock itself, saving him from being hit by another Signal Beam and unbalancing wormadam. It didn't take a tumble off, but it did abandon its position after a second knock cracked the cliff. Ferroseed followed, mixing Pin Missile into the mix, and the projectiles hit the back of the retreating Bug-type.

Another Earth Power happened, and the tendrils of brown converged on Danny's Pokémon this time. He noticed in time, using a Protect, but behind it, wormadam was already readying a Signal Beam. "Seeds!"

They were barely enough to block the Bug-type move, but Marcus's Pokémon ruthlessly pressed the advantage, pelting ferroseed with a flurry of smaller Rock Blasts, using the attack like some of the weaker Shadow Bolt volleys that Danny and Max had taught their Pokémon.

The rocky assault gave no time to recover or mount a counter, and ferroseed was only able to disrupt it with a very short Protect that blocked just two projectiles, buying himself enough time to start Gyro Ball again, this time immediately mixing in the Pin Missile. They homed in on wormadam's position, but a small adjustment meant that only one of the four hit, and that an immediate counter was possible, taking the form of a Signal Beam.

The next spray of Bullet Seeds was way off, and Marcus's Pokémon pounced on that immediately, creating a Bug Buzz that reached ferroseed, adding pain to confusion and confusion to pain.

After five seconds, it became clear that wormadam was able to keep the attack going, and ferroseed wasn't breaking out of the confusion – he was generally pretty slow at that, too. It hurt, but… That's what it was for. "Ferroseed, Explosion!"

Despite the confusion, Danny's Pokémon was able to immediately initiate the devastating attack, and with quite a bit left in the tank, it was a destructive one. Wormadam was bodily picked up and flung back all the way into the shields, thirty or forty feet away, and ferroseed was left lying in a crater of his own making, at least five feet across and two deep.

It made returning him a bit hard, and Danny had to step out of his box for a moment to get a good angle.

Choosing who to send out in return was… Harder than he had anticipated. He had plenty of options – swampert and aggron would just punch it and be done, while froslass would just exploit the vulnerability to Ice that the Ground-type brought. But all of those, he felt, would cause Marcus to switch out and come back later. Maybe it wouldn't do much, but knocking wormadam out now and not giving Magnus a reason to return it seemed like a good idea.

Darn, he really had spent too much time around Max and his getting inside his opponent's head ideas.

And from that, he had an idea that was either brilliant or insane. Probably both. "Magneton, your turn!" he said, and immediately, he strained to listen to the announcer that he normally didn't hear.

"That is certainly an unorthodox choice from Danny, sending out an Electric-type into a Ground-type. But the levitation will definitely aid him, robbing wormadam of that Earth Power that gave it control over the field."

As it had been with Max's battle, the female announcer was on point with her analysis. And magneton had a new trick up its sleeve too.

But the Electric-type didn't start out with that. Instead, three Mirror Shot projectiles formed, one between each set of magnets, and with a little manipulation of bodily position, they were just out of sync with each other, which caused the attempted Rock Blast block to only work on the first one – the other two streaks of grey were able to push through the already weakened attack to strike straight at wormadam.

Magneton used the time bought effectively, moving in closer while wormadam recovered before doing the same trick again. This time, it caused a Protect to appear, and Danny smirked.

"Tri Attack!"

Fire on top, ice on the right, electricity on the left, spun together in an elemental attack that wormadam couldn't fully escape. Danny was uncertain which elements hit it – magneton's version kept the types separated – but with only one immunity and two vulnerabilities, any double hit was a good hit.

A Lock-On was prudent, as wormadam was now atop an unsteady-looking pile of earth, but it wasn't needed. Mirror Shot and Signal Beam passed by each other, the Bug-type move grazing the top of magneton's upper magnet, while the Steel-type attack hit with full force.

One each, and Marcus wasted no time in sending out his next Pokémon.

Scizor. Ooooh boy.

Part of him wondered what the bond was based on. A bigger part of him wondered if he could get away with swapping out magneton.

But he decided against it. Better to find out exactly how hard it hit and what it could do before sending in any of his Pokémon that could deal with it more effectively.

The answer to the first question was _probably_ 'very hard', but that still didn't tell him much.

A quick Agility made the red Pokémon vanish from sight the moment it was allowed to, causing Danny to order a Thunder Wave attack, but that did absolutely nothing – or seemingly so – to the suddenly reappearing and punching Pokémon. In one blow, it knocked magneton back at least twenty feet, and after landing, it went straight for the Electric-type again.

Protect held. _Barely._ A Thunderbolt at least told scizor to back off for a moment, but it didn't really connect except grazingly; the energy grounding into the mud below as well. The Mega didn't appear to be hindered by the lack of solid ground, though, flying back up immediately with a blue-glowing pincer.

This time, Thunderbolt hit dead on, but Danny wasn't surprised to see his opponent's Pokémon just power through the electricity anyway, delivering a Bullet Punch upwards before zooming after and past magneton, aiming to go for a smash downwards. "Supersonic!"

That, at least, caused a pause of about a second. It was enough time for his Pokémon to gain control of its movement again, and the smash turned into a heavy punch that sent him to the other long end of the arena. Low by the ground, but magneton immediately tried to use a Lock-On, failing only when Agility made scizor vanish again.

By pure chance, Danny saw a whoosh of air. "Your left!"

Another full-on Thunderbolt as magneton pumped everything into the attack, but scizor did not care. With the bright light blue of X-Scissor on its claws, it brought down a ferocious crossing chop that sent magneton straight into the grass below, creating the second crater of the match as it flew back up before diving towards Danny's Pokémon again, enveloping itself in purple-yellow.

A Tri Attack evaporated in the face of the Giga Impact, and magneton was driven down into the ground so deep that one of the Pokémon responsible for the shielding had to lift it up to allow Danny to return it.

"You got some hits in. That's all I could ask."

Froslass didn't seem like a good idea. It was too fast – faster than he had thought – and trucks probably didn't hit as hard. He needed to fight power with power, and aggron was best for that.

But…

But the field was a mess, and aggron would be restricted to Danny's half of the field. The craters and Earth Power had seen to that. If Marcus returned scizor, then anything that could work from range would force Danny to do the same, and he didn't like that idea one bit.

Swampert, on the other hand, was right at home in the muddy situation. More importantly, the rain was forecast to increase as the match went on, which Marcus also knew. Sending out volcarona against magneton would've been the best idea, logically – later on, the fire would be weaker thanks to the downpour. The fact that it was scizor out now…

He was going to take a punt on it. "Swampert, you're up!"

Scizor started in much the same way as the previous round, by vanishing into an Agility, but this time, Danny was prepared, and he managed to spot the Mega fairly easily halfway across the field, where it displaced just enough dirt to be noticeable. "Incoming!"

Mud Shot missed the main body, but it did hit one of the claws. Unfortunately, it was the claw that wasn't coming in for a Metal Claw, and swampert found himself forced to block that with a strong punch of his own, and a swipe of his other arm denied scizor a hit underneath his guard, at which point Marcus's Pokémon used the locked claw-and-fist as a springboard to move back.

Swampert sent a Water Gun after it out of habit, but scizor went into the air before coming back down in an X-Scissor that met a shining Protect. The clash caused a wave of wind to pass over the field, tugging at whatever grass was left, but it held a lot better than magneton's had, and in response, swampert delivered another Water Gun; this one heading straight for scizor's face and sending it tumbling down.

The Bulldoze follow-up did nothing but rearrange the arena even more, and swampert moved back a few steps to avoid uneven terrain; time that scizor used to relaunch the offensive, going for a series of Bullet Punches that looked to try and overwhelm the Water-type's defences. It worked too; as he was unable to get enough blocks in, and counter-attacking himself was straight out.

"Ice Punch."

The cold did what normal blocks could not, forcing scizor to move back for a moment as it adjusted its position, before surging forward again in the relentless assault that it had going on. Another Ice Punch met a Metal Claw; a trade that swampert came out of slightly worse, Danny thought, but the Water Gun hit scizor in the abdomen, and it was sent flying backwards amidst the spray, regaining control of its flight in time to not land in the mud, but then forced to cross arms in front of itself to block a Mud Bomb from connecting with anything vital.

The guard dropped the millisecond it could, and up the Steel-type went, going for another Giga Impact to create yet another crater, but swampert dug underground at the first sight of purple appearing, which caused Marcus's Pokémon to let the energy go as it waited for the Ground-type to reappear.

Which he did about three feet away from where he had originally dug, bursting up into the air and unleashing an Icy Wind that didn't connect at all, but that was never the purpose. The attack allowed swampert to land on his feet without being interfered with, and by the time he was back on the defence, he had solid footing that enabled him to go blow for blow.

Punch, jab, even something that looked like a haymaker, all manner of fists meeting and inflicting damage were used, faster than you'd think either Pokémon should be able to move given speed and size, but they were fairly equally matched. Ice occasionally broke in, with swampert trying to weave it in against the X-Scissor-laced attacks rather than either Steel-type move that scizor had used so far, but success was middling at best.

Marcus's Pokémon was a monster. It could hit as hard as swampert did, or sacrifice a tiny amount of that power and hit as fast as sceptile could deliver blades, all while it could adjust position on the fly with copious use of its wings and a surprisingly nimble way of moving for a Steel-type. Danny had never fought a Pokémon like it, and despite taking two head-on Thunderbolts earlier, it seemed that it was outlasting swampert in the pure hand to hand combat.

But swampert had a trick up his sleeve, and with a loud roar, a deluge of water surged forward as blue erupted; the simple Water Gun looking more like Hydro Pump as scizor was swept away.

The Mud Fish Pokémon bounded after, moving across the muddy field like it was stone, and immediately bringing the fight to the red Pokémon getting up from a small mud bath with a ferocious Ice Punch direct to the head; one that wasn't dodged or avoided in any way, and a Bulldoze sent both of them lower into the ground where the fight was in Danny's advantage.

Then something red triggered, sending the blue Pokémon – about one and a half times Danny's weight – flying like he was weightless. The landing was okay enough, but it gave scizor the time to get back to the assault, and only a few very hasty blocks and a shimmering Protect kept the X-Scissor from swampert getting clocked in the head at least three times.

Another Torrent-fueled Water Gun connected, washing scizor away and allowing a moment's reprieve, if Marcus's Pokémon hadn't flown upwards the moment that the pressure on its body had vanished, and purple highlights already started dancing around its body.

"Stand!" Danny ordered instantly, rationalising the decision immediately. If Dig was too slow, then it was lights out with no counter play. "Everything you have!"

And everything he had, swampert gave. Blue built up in his throat, but he didn't release it until the Giga Impact was so close that there was no deviation possible, and at the same time, he met the powerful attack with an Ice Punch.

The two Pokémon vanished from sight completely as scizor buried both of them in mud; splatters flying up what had to be twenty feet, if not more, and though Danny saw the blue light of Torrent fade; the question was if scizor had also been knocked out, or if it had held on.

It hadn't, and he released a breath he hadn't noticed he was holding. Both Pokémon were fished out of their pseudo-graves, and half-time was called, which was the signal for Danny to move to the covered bench as fast as he could.

Max, cheater that he was, had sent baltoy out by now, which was keeping him dry. "Rain blowing in?"

"Yeah," Max said, gesturing, and the shield moved outward a bit. "I've also got a new raincoat for you."

Danny looked to the left, spotting the green item before taking a look at the matte colour of his own. "Not sure if these are made for this."

"Me neither," Max agreed as Danny pulled the old one over his head, instantly feeling at least several pounds lighter. "I think Greta might have been understating things, by the way."

"No kidding," Danny said, glancing at the scoreboard up high, with three greyed-out Pokémon on his side of the display. "How many Pokémon do you know that could fight it in pure hand to hand and come out ahead?"

"Maybe Mega aggron, but otherwise… Steven's metagross is the only one that isn't a Legendary that comes to mind," Max replied. "Not that it'd be hand to hand only, but..." Danny got the point. "Why not him?"

"Room. Didn't want to get trapped."

"So that means..."

"Uhuh."

Nothing more was said in the two minutes, Danny instead getting a bit of energy back with a quick snack in the blessed dry area, but soon enough, he had to walk back into the rain.

A deep, calming breath as their next Pokémon was asked for, and the annoyance of rain faded, replaced by the measured bond he shared with Mega aggron. The opponent was a leavanny. Bug and Grass, appropriate for the terrain. Some of them had the Bug-type version of Torrent, but Danny wasn't afraid of that.

Aggron would weather it as best he could.

The Steel-type broke into a run, each step making the ground tremble. A fresh field meant he could move for now while the water hadn't soaked in, and the rain wasn't as much of a bother.

He saw some form of green splash away from aggron. Razor Leaves, probably, but they did nothing, and leavanny had to jump out of the way in order to dodge.

A tail slammed into the grass, displacing mud and ground. Marcus's Pokémon was caught, turning brown, but ignoring it and releasing silver crescents from its arms. They hit aggron on the side, and he responded by snapping forward.

Leavanny jumped, trying to go over, but an arm intercepted her, throwing her away like a doll. It did not delay in getting up, unleashing a barrage of Razor Leaves that plinked off harmlessly.

It was clear the Grass-type didn't have the power to challenge aggron's defences, but Marcus kept it in. A Silver Wind did a bit more, but staying too long meant a Metal Claw sent it upwards. Too far, in fact, allowing leavanny to rally in the air. Vivid green tendrils mixed in with the heavy rain. "Protect."

There was going to be no Giga Drain on his watch.

Aggron jumped up, head glowing. It was only a few feet, but without a way to adjust path, leavanny had no chance. Iron Head connected. A sharp nod created direction – downwards – and light green appeared in the mud.

The Silver Wind crescents were appropriately larger. Aggron scratched at one of the impact sites before roaring; reverberating in the bond. He put his foot down, creating an Earthquake that hindered the Grass-type, before using his other foot to create a Bulldoze.

The movement didn't break leavanny's concentration, and specks of green started surrounding it as aggron bore down.

The Leaf Storm did connect, aggron disregarding his defences in favour of dropping over onto his opponent.

Being squashed by something twenty times its weight was too much for leavanny, and aggron got up easily, calmly returning to Danny's side of the arena. There were some marks on his armour, but he looked and felt ready to rumble for another round.

Galvantula could prove more challenging. They were some of the fastest Bug-type Pokémon, and in the rain, the electricity would do a number on aggron. They also had no real way to leave the ground except jumping, and they were light.

If aggron could connect a direct hit or two, he'd be in good shape. If not, he was in trouble. Plain and simple.

The start was the same as against leavanny. A rush downfield, head bowed. It started glowing to deflect the counter galvantula sent in, and Electro Ball shattered without aggron slowing down.

The Electric-type tried to skitter off, and an Earthquake locked it into place. The tremors didn't create and breaks near the small Pokémon, so aggron followed up with a directed Bulldoze, but that was avoided.

Electroweb kept aggron busy for a moment, but he was too strong to be deterred, slicing through with a Metal Claw. It allowed galvantula to sneak off, but Danny was keeping track, spotting a speck of yellow in the green and grey. "Behind left."

One foot kicked into the ground, and a Bulldoze travelled down the field, forcing galvantula into the open middle, where it was visible to all. It fired another Electro Ball as the Mega charged in, with Metal Claw slicing through it and the explosion unimportant.

Marcus's Pokémon jumped away, but the tip of a swiping tail hit it, sending it towards Danny. It landed well, summoning another Electro Ball that met the same fate as before before jumping upwards.

Discharge came out, actually hindering aggron for once. Not for long, and a Metal Claw was waiting for galvantula, but a sharp and slow-feeling spike went through the bond at the same time.

Any momentum aggron might have been able to get from delivering a heavy blow was nullified by the need to focus and overcome the paralytic effect of the Discharge. He had to take two Electro Balls to the back while doing so, and an electrified web stopped his movements further.

It was easily sliced through, but now, the Bug-type was at middle range, hiding far enough away that it could move out of Bulldoze and where Earthquake wouldn't do much.

Moving it was the right call. "Bulldoze."

Galvantula shot out from one of the holes that had been created, ready for the move and returning an Electro Ball, which impacted again, and this time, aggron definitely felt it. So did Danny, through the bond.

Aggron was being worn down. He wasn't close to his last legs, but against galvantula, that didn't really matter. There was a point where the speed difference would matter. It was up to them to make that never appear.

He zoned back into the fight as an Electroweb allowed for an easy escape, but the Bulldoze sent after forced an adjustment into the open. "Protect the next web."

The command was understood, but galvantula's next way of stopping aggron's rampage was to use a Discharge. It didn't work out as planned; an Earthquake interrupting the flow of electricity and then the Steel-type kicked the Bug-type into the distance with great force, pushing it out of Danny's view.

He concentrated on the commentary, but got nothing from it. But he couldn't wait, and aggron agreed; moving forward into yet another Electro Ball. A push filtered through the wall that was their bond; the sign that aggron had ignored the pain in favour of continuing.

This time, there was a web, and a Protect, and then a Discharge that immediately caused a sharp spike of paralysis and pain.

The bond unravelled slowly, but surely, allowing Danny to steel himself for the moment that aggron was knocked out, but in his fall forward, there was one other emotion filtering through.

Triumph.

Danny shook his head as aggron went back to normal, returning his Mega immediately, but before he could send out another Pokémon, the referee on the side blew his rarely-used whistle. "Galvantula is also knocked out."

Well. That explained the triumph. Galvantula had been stuck underneath a fallen dinosaur, which had been a bit too much for it. The few hits that it had sustained must have been painful ones for it to not move out of the way, but Danny certainly wasn't going to complain about this. The Megas had tied things up, and now it came down to the two last Pokémon.

He wasn't surprised to see the ariados, but he was surprised to see Marcus keep it in against diggersby.

Danny's Ground-type went into the loose soil immediately, quickly digging his way over, but before he could erupt from the ground, ariados split itself into three through Double Team, standing ramrod still after that.

It had to be a trap, but in this match-up as the previous one, Danny's Pokémon had to be the one on the offensive, against what he sort of wanted. Spending time with Max as he had had taught him enough about the style that his Pokémon were comfortable with it, though.

Diggersby chose poorly, popping a clone, and the other two immediately spat out web. Purple-tinted web, and though Protect went up, it was too late as some of it got stuck in the grey-and-brown Pokémon's neck, above its furry band.

It proved to be incredibly painful for some reason, and diggersby doubled over, allowing more web to be spat out. "Block it!"

Mud Bomb did away with the regular amount of web, and a dive into the ground probably got rid of the worst of the sticky threads, but Danny knew better. He hadn't known it was even possible, but somehow, the ariados had infused some kind of poison into its webs.

The Kalosian Pokémon could probably feel the poison within him, as he came up almost as fast as was possible, hitting ariados from underneath, but that seemed to only be according to its plan, as it adjusted itself in mid-air, using a spray of web for balance, before spitting out a Sludge Bomb straight downwards that was forced to be blocked with a Hammer Arm pair.

The defensive move allowed a safe landing, and immediately, the spider went to work again, this time moving in physically, skittering across the loose soil rapidly – faster than diggersby or Danny held possible – and unleashing a Cross Poison that was only blocked at the last second by a thin wall of rock that sprung up from a hasty Rock Tomb.

That wasn't enough, and both of them were sent tumbling into the mud. Normally, Danny knew that'd suit diggersby fine, but with the poison as a threat, it wasn't. "Get it off!"

Several purple threads hung off of diggersby by the time the ariados was given a free trip through the air, courtesy of ear-arms providing the launch. A quick dip into the ground removed most of them, but ariados was ready for the resurfacing, immediately spraying the area with web and tying up the ears tightly with regular threads.

The moments it took diggersby to break the bonds were painful, as he was a sitting rabbit for the toxic web threads that followed up, and while he was busy with dislodging those, Marcus's Pokémon closed in with another Cross Poison.

This time, it met a Hammer Arm block, but in that exchange, Danny knew who would win, and it wasn't diggersby. Ariados were very resistant to Fighting-type moves. "Stick to mud for defence," he said, and a toss of some earth neatly disrupted the new round of rope coming in.

But there was no stopping, and though mud took care of six attempts at trying to tie him up, diggersby faltered on the seventh. Luckily, it hit him around the body instead of the ears, meaning he wasn't as hindered, but unfortunately, they were Toxic Threads again, and the poison was beginning to make itself known pretty obviously by now. Even from the distance they were fighting at – middle of the arena, give or take – Danny could see unhealthy veins popping up in his Pokémon's body: an antibody reaction to the toxins surging through the Ground-type.

He didn't have much time. "All you got."

And he got all of it. Diggersby abandoned all forms of defending except to blast or bat web out of the way, going for a heavy set of blows on ariados, but the spider was slippery, escaping after being struck once with an ear swipe and immediately turning around to spray a hail of Poison Sting needles to annoy and stop diggersby from following. Protect came out in time, but that only served as a way to serve him up to a Toxic Thread wrap-around.

Danny returned diggersby before the pain would be too much. He knew when he was beat, and he didn't want his Pokémon to suffer too much from the toxins.

Froslass would have to do. And she could.

"Watch out for the purple threads," he told his last Pokémon as she came out, swaying in the nigh-torrential rain that was by now coming down. No thunder – yet, probably – but the field was as much of a mess as it had been after the first half, just with smaller craters that had been created from Earthquake and Bulldoze rather than Giga Impact crashes. It would be a factor for ariados, but not for froslass.

Levitation had its advantages. As she showed by using three dimensions to avoid the first blast of Poison Stings and the follow-up Toxic Thread before moving with the wind and pushing cold and ice into it; creating a true Icy Wind.

Ariados didn't like that, splitting into several clones, but froslass snuffed out the real one in an instant with a dark orb that was stopped too close to the Bug-type's face. It probably still did some damage, but it recovered faster than either of them held possible, and a spray of webbing shot forth.

Froslass avoided most of it, though some stuck – but it was regular grey, not purple.

In response, she started concentrating, and a blue aura surrounded her. It lashed out at the Toxic Thread that was coming in as Danny's Ice-type showed her amazing control over her element, and soon after – also following a change of position to avoid a Signal Beam – the Blizzard was unleashed.

It froze a full third of the arena, with ariados in it, but a protective blast of web seemed to have shielded the Bug-type from the worst of it. Movement was definitely harder for it now, and froslass sought to capitalise with her new move: a Thunderbolt.

The reason for that became clear almost immediately, as it was able to surge through the blast of web, destroying the integrity of the projectile and making it splash harmlessly on her and the ground, and Marcus's Pokémon felt the sting of cold electricity before getting a reprieve just long enough to skitter away from an Ice Beam – barely.

The yuki-onna followed, moving to Danny's unfrozen half of the arena where ariados was now, swooping down and having to phase out to avoid a Poison Sting – Danny thought she got most of it – in order to deliver a close-range Confuse Ray. A Double Team stopped that, though, but with a twirl upwards, ice formed all around her before shooting out in all downwards directions, spraying both fakes and the real spider with painful shards.

A well-timed Protect got rid of Sludge Bomb, and an Icy Wind stopped web straight in its tracks, causing it to rain down alongside the regular torrential rain.

Ariados started to move away, narrowly avoiding an Ice Beam before using a Sludge Bomb to cover its retreat. It forced froslass to drop down for a bit, and a Shadow Ball was her follow-up of choice, hitting in the rear, but not doing much else.

A substitution was signalled, the heavy rain making it hard for Danny to see the referee's flag go up before he saw the red energy return ariados from a safe position as froslass headed on over to him.

She'd taken a few hits, and a few strands of non-toxic web plus some water had frozen on her body as she had used her Ice-type. Ariados had far been worse off by Danny's estimate, but the last Pokémon was fresh. It was a tactically sound switch for sure.

It was Marcus's volcarona. The same one he'd thought hadn't been here after the Sinnoh-born had reacted to magneton with Mega scizor and with the worsening weather in mind. And Danny knew that it knew Hurricane, and power contests weren't in froslass's favour. Nor was a wait-and-see counter-attack approach.

He'd have to make the best of it.

"Middle range and no Blizzard," Danny told froslass before she flew off as the battle got underway again. She stuck to that command diligently, shooting higher into the air before launching a few probing Shadow Balls.

Volcarona didn't care. Volcarona unleashed a Fire Blast in froslass's general direction that completely obliterated the Ghost-type moves. It missed by a good margin thanks to the distance, but it was a clear warning.

Another Fire-type attack followed; the concentrated flame of Heat Wave pushing straight through the torrential rain, landing a solid blow. It forced froslass lower to the ground, from where Danny saw her start to form an Ice Beam.

The light-blue energy connected with the Bug-type, but it didn't seem to care, glowing red momentarily before channelling the fire into another attack; a Flamethrower this time that froslass chose to block with a second Ice Beam to obscure volcarona's vision of her.

It worked, but it also worked the other way around, and as froslass attempted to get a Confuse Ray through to make the continued flame stop, the wind in the arena suddenly picked up, forming into a mighty Hurricane that beat on Danny's Ice-type. She held on for a moment, before deliberately letting go and letting the wind sweep her along. It caused a bit of damage, but not fighting into the gales helped, and she was able to start her own counter-offensive, drawing in cold to shield herself from the worst effects of the whipping rain.

She then had to expend all of that into an Ice Beam, blocking volcarona as it came in, surrounded by flame in a Flare Blitz. Marcus's Pokémon dropped lower, not quite crashing, and had to eat a Shadow Ball before recovering, firing back with another Heat Wave.

If it knew anything but flame and wind manipulation, it certainly wasn't showing it, but it was very effective, and froslass had to abandon her levitation for a moment to avoid the concentrated attack. She swivelled around, lobbing a weak Shadow Ball straight into the path Marcus's Pokémon was taking in her direction, which just splashed on its body undeterred.

Fire erupted, and this time, Danny's Pokémon wasn't able to avoid it, forcing out a Protect, but instead of bouncing off, volcarona leaned into the shield, trying to overpower it through sheer force.

And it worked. A flash of blue erupted as froslass tried to freeze the Fire-type over, but it wasn't enough, and she was sent to the ground below her, crashing and bouncing up a bit from the impact.

A tornado of fire appeared, engulfing her, and before it dissipated, Danny knew the result. She'd been knocked out through _overwhelming_ force, and with her went his tournament.

There was only a tiny uncomfortable lump in his throat, and it was easily swallowed. Marcus was better, and apart from the one misjudgement that volcarona wasn't in the selected six… Danny didn't see anything extremely obvious that could've changed the battle's flow. A thousand tiny decisions, maybe, but that wasn't on the cards today.

And that was fine. He wasn't some kind of Champion-level prodigy, and to push Marcus to a 6-4 without big mistakes and with a tired ariados was just solid. No ifs and buts about it: just something that he could be proud of. Now and forever.

He executed a bow and exited the Trainer's box left, head held high.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Max was the second to arrive in the antechamber in Silver Town's town hall. Which was also used for weddings, some seasonal religious stuff, and everything else that needed a room that could seat thirty or so people, if he remembered correctly from something or other he'd read a while back. This room was typically Johtoan, right down to some seating that was meant to be done lotus-style.

Something that the other Trainer already there was failing miserably at. "Just fold your legs underneath," Max said as he sat down, giving the white-blond-haired teenager – Ivan, who'd won the quarter-final after his own – an example to follow. "It's uncomfortable if you're not used to it."

Ivan did as Max showed, and he stayed upright. "Thank you," he said in a soft voice, before lapsing into silence.

The room didn't stay silent for long. The other two semi-finalists and a pair of organisers both entered the room at the same time, from opposite ends, about two minutes after. "Looks like everyone is here," a black-haired and flat out fat man said, giving them a once-over. "Who of you hasn't done a press conference before?"

Only Ivan raised his hand, and Max got a strange look from the fourth semi-finalist and his opponent. Or maybe that was the effect of her incredibly bright eyes. Whatever it was, he gave a grin before turning to the League officials or whatever they were.

"You know what's supposed to happen?" the other unknown person – a woman, very no-nonsense, in a way Max instantly liked – said. "Good," she continued at some unspoken signal. "We'll introduce you in order. Marcus and Ivan go first, Regina and Max second."

"Tall, then short," the man quipped, evoking an eye-roll from Max and a sigh from what sounded like Regina. "There'll be a photo session after, and there's all sorts of cameras on you, so keep smiling."

It was hard to resist the temptation to call it by what the man was making it sound like, but Max managed, and thankfully, the organisers left the room for a moment. "Really not helping," Regina muttered, and she moved past Max towards Ivan. "Listen. Smile or don't, it's your choice. Heaps of people don't like these. Is it your first time in the spotlight like this?"

"Yes, kinda."

"If they're good journalists, they'll pick up on I and go easy." Regina turned around, facing Max, and he realised that she wasn't that much taller than he was. And it wasn't because he'd had a growth spurt. "How much do you like these things?"

Max wanted to reply that he could put up with them, but when the door opened, he skipped that, instead raising his hand slightly and shaking it in the universal 'so-so' gesture.

"They're ready for you now."

As ever when entering a room for a press conference – and he fully realised that it was amazingly stupid that he had a normal for it – he was nearly blinded by flashes, but you didn't train Pokémon without picking up at least a bit of awareness of where to go when you couldn't see. It was a pretty small room – or maybe it just felt like that because it was packed full – but there were small microphones for them to speak into. He adjusted his a bit so he would actually speak into it while the man held an entirely too cheerful introduction of them all.

What on earth was Scott doing in the background?

One of the dozen-and-a-half journalists in the room sitting stood up. "Congratulations to all of you for qualifying. The obvious first question: how far were you expecting to make it?"

There was a moment of confusion on which of the two on the outer ends – Max or Marcus – was to speak first, but the man nodded in Marcus's direction. "At least here."

"Round of..." Ivan said, trailing off and adjusting the microphone. "Round of 16."

"I'm with Marcus. Be a bit disappointing if I hadn't."

"I hoped for the quarter-final before everything started."

A nod of thanks, and the man sat down, and a woman stood up, asking a question about how they'd enjoyed the tournament so far, and from there the questions went, covering most of the things that surrounded the tournament or allowing them to speak in generalities about their battles. Standard fare.

That changed when a younger journalist – twenty at _best,_ Max thought – stood up and smiled before speaking. "What were the hardest moments for you? And let's start on the other end."

She knew, Max realised, about what had happened in the first round. Some part of him was annoyed by being put on the spot like that, but another part felt that she wanted to get it out there for some other reason he didn't know yet. "Well, I lost my first battle," he said casually, and at least five pens were dropped or fumbled with. It was all he could do not to snort. "So a huge thanks to the format and that was one heck of a wake-up call."

They went down the line with fairly standard stories – unexpected knock-outs for Regina and Ivan, and Marcus pointing out the hot weather and his Bug-type speciality – but the follow-up question was both predictable and annoying because it singled him out. "Do you think it changed anything for you?"

He took a moment to think. "Course it does," he eventually settled on. "Everything does, right? You need an extra battle, and it's also a reminder that you can't be complacent and that you can't be distracted by other things."

"What happened to make you lose?"

Max grinned. "Fishing for information?" he shot back at his neighbour, not even needing to look to know that she was probably sharing his amusement. "Nasty Toxic-Attract combination and too much of a type disadvantage. Good trick the first time my opponent used it."

There was a bout of furious scribbling, and Max figured that he'd be seeing this again. Not a problem, really.

"For Marcus and Regina," said a balding older reporter, voice raw and raspy like he'd only just gotten it back after illness. "Do you like it that you can only meet in the final or third place battle?"

"The longer I can avoid him, the better," Regina replied airily, causing chuckles. "Seriously. Did the whole semi-final meeting twice now. It's cliché by now. There'll be much more on the line if we meet on Sunday."

"A strong opponent is a strong opponent. No matter when you meet," Marcus followed up. "One last battle for our rivalry."

"What's this? You're not coming to visit when the Gym's open? For shame."

"Speaking of that," the next reporter, a forgettable man in his thirties, asked after he'd been given the signal. "There haven't been too many Steel-types in your last two battles. Is there any reason for that?"

"Gotta keep everyone on their toes." Regina shrugged, before taking a sip of water. "For real, been a Trainer for a dozen years. I've got a lot of Pokémon who can walk the walk. I just choose what feels right."

"And what do you make of the two Trainers who do stick with their speciality?"

"They do them. Giratina knows everyone's got different paths to tread. Choose what you're best with. Max here excepted, of course. I'd like to get to the final without too much hassle."

"I'll tell you how it was being there at the prize ceremony," Max shot back. There was something about his opponent that set him at ease, and the banter came naturally after.

"Tough words. I'd ask if you could back them up, but I did my reading this morning. Remind me to ask for your autograph after the battle."

"Why?"

"Future League Champion autograph? My nephew's gonna love it."

 **~~§~~§~~**

"There's been a complication," he said as soon as the door locked behind Raphael, early morning sunlight shining on it. "Though not an insurmountable one."

"I heard. Am I required in Hoenn, First Minister?"

The title; signalling that his partner in crime was thinking politically for the moment. "I think not. From my understanding, they will want the old and current guard, not the upcoming guard. A medical excuse like the one you've concocted should work." He thought for a moment. "Forgive me for asking, but is it a real risk?"

"It is a real affliction for a few cases every year. Inserting metal into the body carries risks," Raphael stated. "My brother has done the check-ups for this for years and he's never found any issue. That he'll find one now is… convenient for us."

"Quite," Santi agreed, flashing a small grin. "As is the upcoming funeral. How fast can you be at the location?"

"Four days from now at the minimum. Two of my agents are posing as tourists currently in Pewter. Why?"

"Someone of Drake's stature will draw invites from around the Home Regions, perhaps even further afield. Wait for the right time, and you can guarantee no intervention from Lance." Raphael looked up, cogs visibly turning. "Exactly."

"Which other members could be invited?"

Of that, he had no real idea, but he could engage in conjecture. "Given the recent extensive changes in the local Elite Four, it is unlikely that any of the new members have some form of working relationship beyond the standard. I'd posit that Bruno would be the only likely option." A light blinked on his phone, signalling that someone wanted to speak with him. He was reasonably certain as to the subject. "I'll have to cut this short."

"Understandable," the former intelligence officer said, leaving the room after a quick shake of hands.

Santi watched him go before glancing over at an innocuous briefcase in the corner of the room. Few people knew its relevance; fewer still knew its contents. With luck, some of the plans they had been formulating could come to fruition without having to resort to having to use those guardians now, even if striking close to the seat of power of the ones who were most likely to be in a position to stop them was a risky move that Cavendish and himself had weighed for months.

It was fortuitous that Drake would pass away at this time. Any decrease in defences for what was already a high risk mission made it more likely that they could capture their quarry, and through it, make Hoenn see the truth.

A new era would start soon, sprouting in the Tree of Beginning.

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _Following a short battle with cancer, former Elite Four member of Hoenn Drake has passed away in his sleep, late evening of Friday August 15_ _th_ _. While a full statement of his family had not been released by the time this paper went to print, flower arrangements were already starting to appear outside Lilycove Hospice, where the Dragon Master had been sequestered for the past weeks._

 _In his thirty year tenure as a member of the Elite Four, Drake was a fervent advocate for using Pokémon to help children and adults with confidence issues, while also reminding Trainers on the regular that overconfidence is their worst enemy. More recently, he became a vocal supporter of people with epilepsy, after his lone grandson was diagnosed with it at an early age._

 _His wife, Amelia, predeceased him, and he leaves behind son Aiden, daughter-in-law Alicia, and grandson Owen._

* * *

 **Author's Note:** And that was Danny's stop. Hope it came off right - I certainly had a lot of fun writing the scizor-swampert battle in particular.


	30. The Individual Advantage

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 29:** **The Individual Advantage**

Hugo collapsed onto his bed, feeling amazed. He'd just used his room's computer and slow internet to finally watch one of the Kanto League matches of the heroes of Kalos.

And it had been really, really, _really_ good.

Okay, fine, fine, he knew he was biased. Because Max had a gardevoir. Like him. But he had never even dreamed of those tricks. Teleport, sure, his gardevoir could do that. But toppling a probopass like that? Keeping jolteon under the water. Moving _through_ that Thunder… Max hadn't been kidding when he said his gardevoir was powerful!

An amused and gentle squeeze made Hugo roll onto his side. His own gardevoir hovered nearby, radiating happiness, and the teenager sat up. "You want to try some of those tricks? I can ask Max in the letter," he asked. Gardevoir had seen it all with him.

She nodded, before pausing to think. She did that. Telepathy wasn't something she was good at apart from feelings and emotions and stuff.

She pushed against him gently, like the tiniest bit of wind. She also turned around, then mimed flying and falling back. "That pulse thing?" Hugo asked, and he wasn't really surprised. She was at her worst when there was some Pokémon close to her. "Isn't it just using power around you? I think baltoy did it too, and you've got more of it."

There was another push. This one pressed into his lower tummy, in two very specific spots. Just above where his pokéballs wer… Those were drowzee's and inkay's!

Gardevoir picked up on that, transmitting happiness. Hugo took a moment to try and translate that. "You want them to learn it too?" he asked eventually. The answer was clear as day. "Well, it's a Psychic Pokémon trick. And Max can probably make it understandable. He's good at that."

He made to stand up, but then he was helped. It always felt a bit weird, but the teenager knew why he'd been grabbed. He had been about to put weight on his wrist. Again. And he really shouldn't do that, but it was hard to remember that it was still healing. It hadn't hurt in two weeks, and the cast was the main way he remembered that it hadn't been that long.

It did itch. A lot. At least it wasn't all that hot. Meant he didn't have to take it off and put it back on every day after a shower or something. This Prudan summer was terrible, and everyone he had met said so too. It had been grey and more grey for nearly two weeks now! "I don't know what I'd do without you, gardevoir."

She rolled her eyes, physically and mentally too. It didn't stop her from giving him a hug that he was too old for from anyone else, but with gardevoir… It was just right.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Norman and Caroline had barely sat down in the comfortable Birch living room after the traditional canine greeting when Gregory fired off the question Norman knew was coming. "So. Exactly how good are our sons?"

The answer of being good enough to get to the best eight or better was on his tongue, but the Gym Leader let it slide off. It was superfluous, and he had thought about this for a bit after the invitation had been made. "Good enough that I'd be bringing the full A-team against either of them. Though being honest, that was a natural progression from November."

"They weren't that good back then. You told us about who you used."

"And neither used a Mega Pokémon that time. But that's not the important point." Norman rapped his fingers on the chair's arm. "The more skilled Pokémon and Trainers are, the more a battle starts to hinge on small details that echo onwards."

"Like dusclops knocking out that lucario," Elizabeth said. It wasn't a query: she was certain of it.

"Danny's entire round of 16 match applies, just about. Spritzee being just fast enough to keep the combination going for that long, dusclops escaping the Foresight… Tiny things like that add up rapidly at a high level. The Destiny Bond was very welcome, but it fundamentally didn't change the direction of the match. Just the duration."

"And one moment of not paying attention can cost you too," Caroline chimed in, echoing the argument in the opposite direction of Max being uncharacteristically stupid.

He'd say they raised him better than that, but truth was that the recovery had been excellent and the gardevoir was both a surprise and a natural fit.

"So… They know how to get ahead by the tiniest margins. That's normal, right?"

"Yes… And no," Norman said, and the pleasure at throwing one of his best friend's sayings back was, as ever, good. "Most Trainers on their third – or a late second – League will know that these advantages exist, but will either not be able to effectively exploit them or need to come up with them on the spot. Which doesn't describe either of them that well."

"They are mostly unconsciously using that thinking. That is what you are getting at." Norman turned towards Elizabeth, surprised that she had gotten his thrust this fast. "It is a model I heard of at a training. Practice is the chief driver." She sipped from her glass; water, this early in the day. "Which I suppose your son picked up by osmosis and then proceeded to share with Danny."

A sound from the television startled Norman, and the wince told him exactly who was responsible for the loudness. "Roughly, yes," he said, choosing to ignore Gregory's fiddling with the remote.

"You're making this sound more one-sided than it is, Norman," Caroline said softly. "I haven't seen anything that makes me think their friendship is really different at its core. Danny helps Max in other areas. It's just that a tournament like this is Max's speciality. And wasn't there something in that interview they did?"

It took the Gym Leader only a moment to cotton on to what his wife was alluding to. "Makes you wonder who'd get further in a Double Battle League."

"Alas, the powers that be like their standard battles," Gregory lamented, not quite veering into theatricality. Too much. "But if our son is to be a sidekick, he is one with far more skill and importance than the average one in any of my tales."

Elizabeth, positioned very slightly behind the forward-leaning Gregory on the sofa, tilted her head almost imperceptibly, asking the silent but somewhat frequent question of 'See what I have to put up with?'. Equally so, there was a fond smile tugging at her lips.

"They are friends. And friendships are giving, taking, and balance," Caroline said from Norman's left. "Maybe Max is the better battler. Or maybe Danny was unlucky with his opponent. Marcus cruised through his match."

Norman had missed half of it thanks to administrative things taking up a bit more time than planned and Marcus racing to a three-to-one lead in no time flat. That scoreline had been repeated in the second half of the match. "It's probably a bit of both," he hedged. "But I think that what they say themselves is true. They wouldn't have gotten here without each other."

Eight eyes checked out one of the photographs on the wall; of their sons and a Kalosian girl standing side-by-side. Danny was in the middle in this one, with Max on his left, and all of them were wearing formal and well-fitting dress. Their awards were clearly visible, pinned or tied, and they wore smiles that looked tired from having to put one on their face a few times too many.

The arms around Max and Serena's shoulders, and the two somewhat reaching for Danny's, were proof enough.

 **~~§~~§~~**

The second semi-final. His second semi-final. Max would be lying to himself if he wasn't a teensy bit nervous as he walked out of the catacombs into the loud cacophony that was the Silver Town Stadium. Cheers went up as the announcer – not the same as the one on the match before, nor of his quarter-final match – welcomed him to the field as the fourth and final semi-finalist.

He glanced right, seeing the maximum of three people sit in the little dug-out for close friends. Danny was there, of course, and this time, Serena and Ash were also there. Turned out that the Kalosian hadn't known you could be there with three, and Ash had been doing something he was a bit silent on.

That didn't matter now. The only thing that mattered was trying his best to get to the final. Regina was going to be a tough opponent.

Who also said a ritual prayer to Giratina ahead of her every match, going down to her knees and bowing her head. It seemed a bit weird to him, but everyone had their own pre-battle ritual. If hers was to pray in the arena itself and not care that some stupid high number of people were watching you do that, why should he care about it?

He ran his hand over his new belt, bought the day before after the last one had a magnet fail. He could've had a replacement for the individual magnet, but when both Ash and the shopkeeper had said that they tended to break around the same time, he'd opted for a new one anyway. One maybe a size too big, sure, but he was going to have a growth spurt any day now. He hoped.

After that train of thought, and after the prayer, Regina was selected to send out her Pokémon first, and she released a durant onto the regular field.

Information flashed in his mind. Bug and Steel-type, surprisingly fast, but very physically oriented. He'd noted it the night before in the Pokémon she'd used. Vulpix could probably do a lot against it, but he wasn't going to lead with her.

This was the semi-final. He'd taken his four strongest Pokémon and two that were good against the Steel-types that would be her Gym's type in a few months' time. He would come out swinging. "Shelgon, you're up!"

And immediately, Regina signalled a substitution. Before the match even got underway proper.

It was allowed, of course. At a guess, she knew that shelgon could use Flamethrower and Ember, which would make a durant's life miserable. Shelgon had used those a lot the last time he'd been out to rumble.

The Pokémon she replaced it with was a magnezone. He held back a mutter about how he was seeing a lot of those Pokémon affected by magnetic fields against him, doing a quick analysis. Dragonskin was well-insulated against electricity; Dragon Pulse and Flamethrower had enough range if it hadn't been trained to work well specifically from long range, and Dragon Rush could be used as a way to move around in emergencies.

The match started, and shelgon waddled forward after his usual opening, while Max kept a careful eye on the magnezone. It went over the Dragon Pulse, leading with a jolt of electricity as it moved into range.

The Protect was _perfect_ , to the point where Max could just about hear the fizzle of snap-grounded current. Magnezone vanished from shelgon's sight as dust was thrown up, but the Dragon shot a Flamethrower out anyway, along the path that the Steel-type had been moving on.

It was a direct hit. A whirring screech vaguely filtered through the shields as Regina's Pokémon lost height, and he saw a vague red glow on its under… belly?

Shelgon followed with a spray of Ember, but a grey reflective shield went up, and a blast of orange energy was returned to sender. A weak Dragon Pulse disrupted it, but magnezone was ready with a follow-up to the Mirror Coat; forming several grey-silver globes and sending them towards the immobile Dragon-type one by one.

Shelgon took three Magnet Bombs without caring before blasting a Dragon Pulse straight through the fourth one. The overwhelming power surprised everyone, including the audience and the opposing Pokémon, and the green attack half-connected with plenty of force.

Magnezone took the momentum and dove downwards, levelling with shelgon on the ground and firing off a Mirror Shot that pierced straight through the Flamethrower, also making sure that it wasn't set on fire again. Shelgon wasn't able to do the same, and he had to take the hit, not that the dragon cared too much.

A roar of challenge, and Max closed his eyes for a moment, making sure he kept his head clear. "Protect the Mirror Shots," he said calmly as a round of Ember missed entirely while magnezone put distance between the two Pokémon. "And follow."

A couple of Magnet Bombs were hurled towards him, but the first two vanished onto the Dragon Rush aura, and the other three grey projectiles only made shelgon annoyed as he launched a Flamethrower.

This time, that was Mirror Coated, but with minimal effort, shelgon blew that up as well. A wave of heat passed through the arena, which the Dragon-type was fine with.

He wasn't so fine with the Discharge that hit him a moment after, spitting out a blind Dragon Pulse and missing by a lot because the magnezone had adjusted paths, moving behind shelgon into a blind spot.

"Protect," Max ordered as a Mirror Shot came from somewhere shelgon couldn't see. It blocked the attack without a problem, but the next one hit and shelgon was too slow at turning around: magnezone could always stay behind him. Unless it couldn't. "To the corner!"

The Endurance Pokémon rushed forward, green energy surrounding him from any attacks that might be sent his way, but Regina didn't order an attack on him.

She ordered one on the ground ahead of him.

Max didn't see what the Mirror Shot did exactly, but it caused the controlled Dragon Rush to turn into a dragon tumbling, and with his defences down, magnezone dove down, yellow sparking into life.

The jagged bolt snapped forward, and Max ordered a Protect, but shelgon didn't do that. Instead, he wriggled as flames erupted underneath him, spreading outwards and…

Flipping him just in time for the fire to meet the onrushing electricity. Some had bled through to the white Pokémon, but most of the Thunderbolt reacted to the fire as most Thunderbolts did when meeting open flame. Violently, and a pressurised shock wave spread through the arena, flaring the shields near Regina and ruffling the dust near Max.

Magnezone was far enough away that it just rode the wave before starting to gather another round of electricity, and not a Thunderbolt either. Shelgon, being so near the explosion, had been hurled back, rolling to a stop…

 _In the corner._

Thunder rained from the sky, summoned by magnezone, but shelgon threw up a Protect in time. Max's eyes darted to the overhead screen, which showed the two attacks meeting in up close detail; green straining under the golden-yellow assault, even as the electricity bled off into the adjacent arena shielding and the ground.

Protect fell. _Deliberately._

The remnant of the Thunder struck, and magnezone immediately pushed more electricity into the continuing attack, trying to deliver a crippling blow after the shield was down, but before the majority of the renewed current could hit, shelgon used Dragon Rush.

The Thunder disconnected. Shelgon had two seconds in which he had a clear shot at the magnezone before it could redirect aim. He shot a Flamethrower.

And it clashed with the Thunder.

This time, the explosion was near magnezone, and the roles were reversed. Max's Pokémon didn't care about the pressure, while Regina's had been bracing itself due to the Thunder. It was sent flying backwards and upwards, uncontrollably for just a moment, and a Dragon Pulse nailed the trajectory nearly perfectly, interrupting the recovery that had just started.

"Ember," Max ordered, and after adjusting his position while the Magnet Area Pokémon was falling uncontrollably, shelgon did just that, spraying the exact area where magnezone had just straightened itself from the tumble.

There wasn't enough time to defend with anything else than Mirror Coat, but that was exactly what Max had hoped for. "Full Dragon Pulse," he ordered the instant that he saw the reflective grey spring into being.

Shelgon obliged, launching a green globe about three quarters his own size. It was a bit slow, but it obliterated the reflected energy before clipping magnezone on the side.

That caused it to lose the last of its height, and for just a moment, there were two Pokémon on the ground.

Then one of them was engulfed in flame before going up in a red light.

"And Regina returns magnezone. Is it… Yes, she signals the concession. One-nil to the youngest contestant left!"

That _really_ didn't say much, Max mused as shelgon slowly waddled over to his side of the arena. Regina let him take up position before sending out her second Pokémon of the fight.

Ninetales. Her starter. She had come up during the press conference, near the end.

The graceful Fox Pokémon turned around to her Trainer in a small ritual, but soon, golden-white and plain-white Pokémon were both ready.

Shelgon opened fire with a spray of Dragon Rage in front of him; the green – but more blue-infused that Dragon Pulse – intercepting the opening salvo that ninetales had sent out, which was a standard Flamethrower. The fire was more powerful, but the draconic attack was enough to disrupt it.

Heat washed over the arena, but neither Pokémon cared about that. Ninetales tried for a sneaky Confuse Ray hidden under the haze, but it was spotted and summarily Protected from.

Three rapid Dragon Pulses put the Fire-type on the defensive for a moment, but she was able to avoid the first two before jumping over the third with a strong leap, simultaneously unleashing a Dark Pulse that struck true. The payback was a wave of Dragon Rage in her direction, but she dispelled the energy lingering on her with a snap of the tails and Max saw eyes glowing purple-red.

Vulpix's Hex was either a spiral or a helix from an external ball. This one was ring-shaped from the eyes, and they connected with shelgon, who… Shook himself?

Wait. The eyes. "Don't let that connect!"

Dragon Pulse intercepted a second Hex-Hypnosis combination attack, but Regina's Pokémon adjusted her position, laying down a curtain of heavy smoke-generating fire around shelgon, blocking them from Max's sight and her from shelgon's sight.

For some reason, the Dragon didn't rush out immediately, and Max heard a muffled cry as something connected. Whatever it was, it caused shelgon to exit the flames to his right, and the barrier immediately vanished into nothing, and a Dark Pulse followed just after, hitting shelgon in the rear and causing another muffled cry.

But there was anger in there. Max could hear it and feel it. He took a deep breath as the Dragon-type fended off another Dark Pulse, which seemed to be the attack of choice. Then, once he was certain he'd be fine, he spoke up. "All out."

Ninetales blocked the first Dragon Pulse, but the second and third ones – weaker, but still plenty potent – connected, and with a roar of triumph, shelgon used Dragon Rush, trying to close the distance. He didn't get there, but instead transferred the draconic energy into an improvised Dragon Rage that lashed against one of the tails, even as a Flamethrower enveloped him.

Two more Dragon Pulses immediately followed, shelgon uncaring of his scorched state, but Hex-Hypnosis connected. He didn't fall asleep, but he did stagger, and a Dark Pulse slammed into him, nearly toppling the white Pokémon.

Rage roared, and the Dragon Pulse obliterated a patch of ground that the Fire-type had left. Twice. Dragon Rage mixed with Dark Pulse to create an explosion, followed by a barrier of flame and smoke. Dragon Rush forwards, through the fire, into ninetales. The fox landed safely, tails rising as she summoned unearthly purple flame.

Inferno knocked shelgon out, and Max bit back a foul swear.

He returned the Dragon-type, then took a couple of seconds to calm himself so he could think clearly. Then he took a few more to down half of his bottle to wet his throat – despite him not saying anything, it was extremely dry after shelgon had given in to the rage on purpose.

It had worked, at least. Ninetales had been hit, and though she sat there calm as anything, Max knew there was injury to exploit. She'd seemed more comfortable being the one attacking, too.

So Max would bring the fight to her.

"Your Pokém..." the referee asked, stopping when he saw Max grab a pokéball and release manectric. The Mega Evolution took place a moment later, washing away the remains of the anger and rage that he'd felt through shelgon.

He grinned, and he didn't care if it made him look a bit crazy, as Chris had said.

A snap-crackle of electricity zoomed through the arena. Twice. The first, ninetales avoided with a deft jump, and the second was diverted with an off-yellow Extrasensory, allowing her to land safely and summon another Inferno.

Not holding back, was she? "Thunder block!"

The reaction was powerful enough to tear a hole in the ground, sending debris flying everywhere and blocking vision as a curtain of dust settled. Manectric shot off to the left, loping, staying low to the ground and on the lookout. She tried to sniff the Fire-type out as well, to no avail.

But she was able to detect an incoming jet of flame in time to block it with a fast Thundershock. She made to run in that direction, but Max stopped that. "Don't."

He was proven right when a Flamethrower from a different angle went through where she would've been.

Finally, the dust settled, and with a howl, manectric went on the offence again, starting up the Quick Attack and immediately slapping a Discharge onto it. Ninetales tried to stop her in her tracks with a careful Dark Pulse aimed for her feet, but with a jump and a push Max could feel in the bond, she forced the Discharge to go in one direction, creating several bolts of lightning close enough to each other that one had to hit.

Two ended up hitting, and from there, manectric landed, focused, unleashed a Thunderbolt, and scored another hit. The Fire-type traded it for a Hex-Hypnosis hit, but the second part of that did nothing – though Max could feel the siren call settle in the bond.

Weird. But cool. And useful.

Max's canine was relentless in her assault after that had hit, not giving ninetales a chance to do anything that required any form of concentration. Snap Flamethrowers met quick Thunderbolts; a single regular Hex went out to block a Thunder Wave; and she took one Dark Pulse in order to get in close to unleash another Discharge that was then followed up with a ferocious Thunder. Fire Spin managed to cancel that out, blasting heat all over the place, and manectric slammed herself bodily into the Fire-type with Spark, getting out as tails snapped and summoned an Extrasensory that gouged the floor. Thunderbolt then forced a Dark Pulse block, but before that had even finished, a quick relocation allowed manectric to push another round of electricity and to hit.

Regina's Pokémon was good – Max could see the slight movement allowing her to stay in the fight far longer than most would have. A little bit of extra grounding against the electricity here, a slight sidestep there for a tiny bit of an easier time getting out there. She just wasn't good _enough,_ as manectric landed a hit here, and a hit there, and all the while she avoided being hit with any and all flame. Not even the ring of fire worked – she just dashed out in time, shooting towards ninetales immediately after that. Quick Attack and Spark – _her_ first combination attack – connected, and with a triumphant howl, she pushed away from the fallen fox.

There was a purple flash, and… And painful _emptiness_ shot through the bond. The comforting static was far away. The life it echoed was… Dull.

The return and new Pokémon was incredibly speedy, and the gengar that came out was sent as far forward as possible. Immediately, it unleashed a wave of energy: red and purple, the same as its glowing eyes. Mean Look.

And when manectric tried to summon electricity, it didn't work.

She ate a Shadow Ball for that, while Max went for his Pokédex to try and figure out what the hell was going on.

He vaguely noticed gengar and manectric starting to exchange cautious blows – his Pokémon staying on the defensive while her Trainer figured out what had happened – and Regina's Pokémon trying to dispel the flames she was now using as her weapon with a variety of Ghost-type moves.

There was a glancing hit of something that felt like Night Shade, but that was it.

Eventually, he reached a move that looked like it was the one.

 _Grudge. This move disables and drains a Type's energy if used just before fainting, similar to attacks like Hydro Cannon and Blast Burn. Mastery over the Type will return gradually._

Idly taking note that the newest Pokédex upgrade had added voice lines for moves now, Max concentrated on the bond again, and he felt small prickles – and a surge of annoyance as one of manectric's spikes was hit by a Shadow Ball – coming back.

It was a damn effective strategy.

The roles were reversed now. Gengar was on the move, throwing attacks around incessantly. Shadow Balls and Night Shades were the main moves, with an occasional Dark Pulse for variety thrown in. Manectric, no fool she, tried to keep the distance between her and gengar fairly low so she could use Flamethrower effectively – something that the Ghost-type wasn't really willing to let happen, but Quick Attack made up the difference rather well at times.

Amusingly, a Hypnosis attack connected at some point, and again, manectric instinctively shook it off. Max wasn't sure how that worked, but asking Gary sounded like a plan soon.

Slowly but surely, the barrage of attacks started to overwhelm Max's Pokémon. For every ten Shadow Balls launched – and gengar was spitting them out at a pace froslass would've had trouble keeping up with – two or so connected, and only a few of the Flamethrowers sent out in return did the same. They did more damage, maybe – the Ghost-type was definitely sacrificing some power for speed, but the impact through the bond told Max that manectric was losing, long before she could do too much with the electricity, and long before Mean Look would wear off.

She had one attack's worth of electricity stored up, he thought. "Get close."

It took a few tries – though one of them included slightly crisp Ghost – but manectric managed to find herself close enough to gengar.

She reached for the electricity. "Thunder."

They traded blows, but the Thunder did far, far more than the Night Shade. Manectric pushed and pushed and pushed until…

Until the bond snapped, and she reverted.

But Max saw the crackles run over gengar's body; the paralysis that his Mega had caused. And he knew instantly how to take advantage.

Vulpix came out, vulpix ran forward, vulpix – at Max's order – used Hex.

Vulpix flew back thanks to a powerful Night Shade – movement was not really possible, but Night Shade didn't use it – but gengar felt the full force of the attack that fed on being incapacitated.

And gengar fell. Three to two. Max immediately returned vulpix – he wanted her available for durant in case it was Regina's last Pokémon – and walked over to the bench, where he caught a bottle of water.

Danny had thrown it. "So far, it's okay?" he guessed.

Max shrugged before downing half the bottle in one go. "It's close. I think it's going okay, but losing manectric like that stung. She could've taken gengar in full with power to spare." As the Thunder had showed – it just didn't seem too strong defensively. "I don't think she counted on shelgon, though."

"She counted on shelgon losing to magnezone," Ash corrected, and the fourteen year olds turned to the Frontier Brain as one. "Mobility and attacking from range is what's good against shelgon. If… If Drake taught me anything..."

Pikachu nuzzled his cheek to Ash's, and Max swallowed a sudden lump in his throat as he realised that Ash had lost a mentor of his.

Then the sorrow vanished from Ash's face. "Shelgon's resilience did a lot to help you, and knocking manectric out like that wasn't enough to make it even," he said, voice barely wavering. "You'll need to find a way to deal with durant. Regina will want to make sure it doesn't end up against vulpix."

"So… She'll use it now?"

"Probably," Danny answered Serena's question. "Max wants to let vulpix recover now. She didn't get hit too much after all."

"You know me too well," Max observed drily, to chuckles. "I think I'll throw gardevoir in next. See what she's brought to deal with him. Maybe not the best timing on a new field, but I can always switch."

A few minutes later, Max palmed the Friend Ball; keeping it hidden in his hand so it wasn't easily recognised by anyone. They had to send out Pokémon at the same time, after all, but gardevoir was his only odd pokéball.

As he had expected, durant came out.

As he hadn't really expected – what with durant having a Type advantage twice over against gardevoir – Regina switched it out _again_.

A bronzong appeared on the field to face gardevoir in a Psychic battle, and Max bit back a few words he shouldn't say on television. Of the Steel-types he'd been expecting, this was probably one of the worse ones to face in theory. She hadn't used it thus far, but a little digging had revealed its existence in a previous League. The levitation made baltoy's work a lot more annoying.

Sceptile had taken care of the previous two bronzong he'd faced in official battles, but he decided to leave gardevoir in for scouting purposes for a moment. Test defences, maybe try to bait out one or two attacks, that sort of thing.

Then a red aura materialised around the Steel-type, pushing out across the entirety of the arena in an instant. The psionic pulse that Max knew gardevoir had sent vanished into nothingness, and quick as a flash, a red beam went out.

Fighting into Imprison was a nightmare.

He sent out sceptile, and again, Regina signalled a substitution, laying bare her plan. She wanted bronzong to deal with gardevoir and wouldn't send it out unless forced to.

Durant was a poor match-up as far as typing went for sceptile. At the same time, though, baltoy wasn't much better, and he wanted vulpix to rest; now more than ever because fire was one of the few ways bronzong could be brought down with some ease. Some of them.

It'd have to do. And sceptile was a master in hand-to-hand. Hopefully that translated into hand-to-mandible well. As long as his starter got in enough hits, though, he still had the Pokémon advantage. "Stick to Night Slash and X-Scissor," Max ordered.

Sure, Steel resisted Bug, but sceptile was faster with it, making it better for quick blocks.

Durant dug underground immediately, and sceptile knelt, trying to feel the vibrations of the digging ant-like Pokémon as it did its thing.

Detecting something, he jumped up, but nothing happened until he landed, at which point the durant surfaced, mandibles glowing with X-Scissor, but the Grass-type was prepared, getting in a parry with one arm and deflecting the small Pokémon away from his body.

The metal-covered Pokémon landed easily, immediately jumping forward again, getting in a quick slash against sceptile's knees, trusting in the armour to keep it safe from a retaliatory attack.

It did and didn't, as sceptile spun on his feet, slamming his tail into the durant. He wasn't too happy with that, Max thought, but the durant was forced back, and sceptile jumped up and away to create some distance, landing not too far from his Trainer as durant vanished underneath the ground again.

The second time ended worse for Regina's Pokémon. This time, Max's starter didn't jump up and land, instead moving as lightly as he could, and the durant surfaced a good distance away, right in sceptile's line of fire. A storm of Bullet Seeds greeted the Bug and Steel-type Pokémon. It wouldn't be more than an annoyance, but it was a signal that the digging strategy wasn't going to work.

A Sandstorm was whipped up, pushing the advantage of time to the other side of the court, and immediately, sceptile rushed forwards, two Night Slashes on his arms as he sought to get into a fight.

But durant ducked under the first two slashes before biting down on sceptile's tail with a Bug Bite. That caused a violent reaction, with the Grass-type slamming down a Dual Chop on the exoskeleton.

It released its hold, skittering off faster than Max had thought possible for them to move, but sceptile went on the chase immediately, jumping up and switching to lunges. The first one – a double-handed Night Slash – was blocked by an X-Scissor – and the second one was a full miss, though sceptile had anticipated that and pulled his left arm out of the slice at the last second, making sure that he could block the mandibles coming in for another bite.

Regina's Pokémon switched to an Iron Head, though, lowering its head just enough to go under the guard, butting into sceptile's ankle and unbalancing him.

In the time sceptile needed to not fall over, durant reared up, biting down with Bug Bite, going for sceptile's knee.

A soul-piercing shriek tore through the arena, and durant let go immediately, scurrying back as Max ran onto the field through a dying Sandstorm.

Sceptile's knee was… Not good. He couldn't see bone sticking out or anything, but something might have gone wrong inside there. He didn't know. He couldn't tell. He didn't know.

He shook his head as some medics entered the field, one kneeling by the Grass-type and one taking a look from a bit further away before walking over. "First time?" she asked.

"Yes. And yes," Max said, realising that she maybe hadn't asked if it was the first time for sceptile, but also for him to have a Pokémon be this injured. He took a deep breath. "Here. You'll need this."

The woman accepted sceptile's pokéball with a gentle smile, and her colleague joined her as two more people brought a stretcher on ratchety wheels. "It looks like a standard bite wound gone too far," the medic who'd checked the wound told Max. "Won't be an issue to heal, but your sceptile can't fight on."

"Figured that much," Max remarked, and for some reason, the medics smiled. "It happens. Don't like it, but it happens."

"A healthy attitude. We'll take it from here."

Sceptile left the stadium on the stretcher, to applause from the audience.

"As per the rules of the tournament, this constitutes a final warning against Regina," the referee told the entire stadium as Max walked back. "Any further injury that warrants mid-battle medic intervention will result in a disqualification."

Fair rules. Ones Max could get behind. Once was an accident. Twice was purposeful, and they weren't here to do blood sports.

Durant had vanished, but was still available. Somehow, though, Max suspected Regina wouldn't send it out immediately. Wouldn't make sense in many ways.

There was only one option for Max, and he sent out his second ever Pokémon. Baltoy was ready to face whatever was coming, and the fact that durant had dug up a few holes made life a bit easier.

The pelipper didn't, but it wasn't like he'd be able to switch out on account of the whole Imprison thing and vulpix into a Water-type. He'd just have to work with it. Baltoy could definitely make it work.

Max's Pokémon leant forward, moving to the middle of the arena as the referee signalled the restart of the match. Pelipper did something similar, but Regina's Pokémon attacked first; a Water Pulse globe appearing and being nailed by a spike before it even got halfway to baltoy, meaning that the water didn't hit.

Rock Tomb summoned several rocks; one of them blocking a Water Gun from connecting, before the Ground-type shattered them into tiny bits of debris.

Then pelipper used Hurricane, and while Light Screen took care of most of the gale-force winds that assaulted baltoy, it also got rid of all of its ammunition by shoving it all right up near Max, which was a bit far away to easily use. "Ancientpower then."

That was more of a problem for pelipper, who tried to get in a quick Water Gun, but baltoy could split attention well enough to summon a weak-ish Rock Tomb that blocked most of the water while still sending a heavy rock towards the flying Pokémon. It was a close miss, but the spray of rock chips that it followed up with did connect – even if it was only a few that had flown off of baltoy's weak block.

The Water-type, or Regina, realised that this was not going do much, and it soared up into the sun, going fairly high, straight above Max's Pokémon. There, it gathered strength for a moment, and a faint blue glow was visible against the blue-and-white sky.

"Rock Tomb and Light Screen above."

Baltoy layered them so that the rocks were below the Light Screen just in time as dove down, adding momentum of its own to the Hydro Pump.

It was impressive, doing the two at the same time.

Some of the rocks cracked, but none broke, but when baltoy dropped the rocks, a quick Water Pulse shot through, hitting the Psychic-type. Undeterred, a barrage of rocks soared through the air, clipping pelipper, but not forcing it to the ground. It was forced lower, though, and baltoy tried for a psionic grab, but missed.

Ice Beam made an appearance next, but baltoy was ready for that as well. The angle wasn't right to use a Rock Tomb block, so it created an uneven psionic redirect. The Ice Beam was tricked into landing nearby, freezing part of the ground instead of the Ground-type.

He vaguely heard the announcer say something about the trick itself, which wasn't all that common, but Max kept his eyes on the pelipper, who was flying just out of easy reach now. A Water Pulse was popped nearly immediately, making it rain onto baltoy, but that didn't do anything except be mildly annoying.

Then it had an idea. Or Regina had one, and with a mighty flap of its wings, it turned around, unleashing a Hurricane, and baltoy created a Light Screen.

But the winds didn't stop.

The shields around the arena started to flare as more and more wind was moved; more and more kinetic energy being thrown around, and while baltoy's shielding was good, it was also more power-intensive than an augmented flapping of wings. "Drop and counter."

An Ancientpower rock flew upwards behind pelipper, exposing baltoy to about five seconds of unhindered storm, but it kept in place before pulling the rock into the Water-type, which quit flapping its wings entirely for a bit, regaining control of its flight halfway down to the ground, where baltoy was waiting with a Confusion.

A Water Pulse forced it to shatter that instead, but Max instantly saw it had been the wrong move. Pelipper started in a dive, unleashing an Ice Beam – blocked – and a Water Gun – blocked as well – in short succession, putting baltoy firmly on the defence.

But Rock Tombs were annoying, and one nearly nailed pelipper mid-flight while another was reduced to rubble, causing an improvised Stone Edge to be met with a single round of Hurricane; redirecting them to baltoy.

Max's Pokémon blocked those, and that was a mistake.

Hydro Pump appeared again; less powerful than the last time, but not by much, and baltoy wasn't in time to create a block. The powerful Water-type attack slammed into the Clay Doll Pokémon, interrupting the levitation and making it crash into the ground; hitting one of the holes that durant had created as well.

Stones gathered around baltoy, encircling it in three separate bands as the Pokémon righted itself. Pelipper was out of range, but moving in for an attack run again, and the moment that it came in range – shooting an Ice Beam – Max's Pokémon was ready.

The Ice Beam hit. So did baltoy's Stone Edge.

Pelipper crashed into the ground, with one of its wings struck heavily by the rocks. At the same time, though, baltoy had fallen over.

Max didn't wait for the referee to rule it out, holding up a hand to acknowledge it and immediately sending out vulpix with the ball he'd kept in there, having grabbed it the moment he saw that Ice Beam was unavoidably going to hit. "Same as before."

One Hex later, pelipper was also out. A bit surprising, Max felt, but then again, the rock that baltoy had bashed into pelipper mid-Hurricane had been pretty large.

"Brutal reprisal," the announcer commentated as Regina returned her Pokémon. "And nearly a victory against Type for Max. It's vulpix and gardevoir against durant and bronzong now. Winner goes to the final!"

Well, duh.

Regina opted for durant, as Max had been expecting. She really wanted to have bronzong at full strength to deal with gardevoir, meaning that she expected to beat him on that.

The question was if vulpix – who'd been slightly battered by gengar, but had a big Type advantage – would be able to defeat the fresher durant.

Durant headed into the soil, as expected. "Move around, be ready."

Vulpix broke into a dainty half-run, but somehow, this time, durant was able to find its opponent, and the Fire-type was launched into the air, where she immediately turned her head to unleash a Flamethrower straight down at the Bug-type.

Regina's Pokémon took it, instead going for an Iron head where vulpix landed, and following it up with an X-scissor on its mandibles as Max's Pokémon flew off, head in the wrong direction.

They were surprisingly fast, and again, vulpix got hit, though this time, she could fire back, and she gleefully did so, scorching the back half of the Steel-type with a ferocious Flamethrower as it headed into the ground when it saw the flame coming. It shot up not two seconds later, right underneath vulpix, who cried out in pain.

She coated herself in flame for the next time that durant tried to juggle her, but that wasn't enough to stop, and though durant looked tired and burned from just being hit with the two extremely effective attacks… Vulpix was out.

 _Yikes_ that was fast.

But if gardevoir could beat bronzong, durant was easy.

The Psychic-type sent a soothing touch across the barrier, let through by attentive lines-Pokémon, before steeling himself and advancing forward into his prison.

Magical Leaf, Disarming Voice, Echoed Voice, Teleport. Those were their tools. Magical Leaf was straight out except to maybe block. Gardevoir's skill with Fairy-type moves was pretty mediocre and it was weak into Steel to boot. That left Echoed Voice and the hope that it'd be good enough without a small amount of psionic aid.

Bronzong's eyes shimmered blue before bouncing into the ground, creating an Earthquake that gardevoir dodged over by Teleporting. He reappeared high above the field, taking a quick overview before going back down, landing slightly roughly from ongoing momentum and having forgotten that he couldn't buffer the landing as he would normally do.

One Echoed Voice was created. It was small, smashed aside by the wavy attack that surrounded the Steel-type as a barrier – a Psywave of some kind.

A Teleport to behind bronzong, and a second Echoed Voice. Larger, stronger, and faster moving, this one forced Regina's Pokémon to flare a psionic block into the visible spectrum after underestimating its strength at first. Magical Leaves connected with the bronzong in its wake, ringing the bell, but not doing too much more.

A third Teleport; to a position vaguely to its side, but not a third Echoed Voice. Instead, gardevoir tried a Disarming Voice as a test to see what bronzong would do with that. The answer came quickly and brutally, in the form of a Flash Cannon that obliterated the Fairy-type move.

A Future Sight appeared out of nowhere, but though it looked like gardevoir had vanished into the attack, Max knew better, and from above, an Echoed Voice rained down onto bronzong, who was forced to take the full third resonance head-on. The solid barrier – at least eight by eight feet – threatened to flatten bronzong into the ground. That wasn't going to happen, but a great amount of exertion was needed.

Sadly, gardevoir had to take a stumble onto the ground for that from the momentum he'd carried through the Teleports, but that was the right, and he immediately went back on the offensive, deliberately lapsing some of the resonance but keeping some of it to create something that looked like a mix between the second and third Echoed Voice; a six-by-six feet wall that looked like it thrummed with power even from behind the barrier.

A Shadow Ball curved around it, forcing gardevoir to Teleport out, and an Earthquake rocked him the moment that he reappeared; bronzong having taken the attack in order to get one in on gardevoir as well.

Max's Pokémon was okay, though, and with a quick Teleport out, he reappeared behind bronzong, throwing out a storm of Magical Leaves before leaving again.

But bronzong hadn't turned to face the leaves – it hadn't cared at all – and now the two Pokémon were face to face. A Hypnosis went out, and it hit gardevoir, who struggled to stay awake, even as his Ability triggered.

The match slowed down as both Pokémon had to shake themselves awake, and they did so at roughly the same time, resuming where everything left off with an Echoed Voice and a Shadow Ball.

And a Future Sight slamming into gardevoir. _Shit._

Sometime when Max hadn't been able to see bronzong's eyes, it had used Future Sight again, and the delay ended up working against them. The Shadow Ball also hit, and the resonance of Echoed Voice was fully lost, though gardevoir at least could continue the fight.

An Earthquake rocked the arena as bronzong turned around on its axis, and Max assumed that meant there was another Future Sight incoming. The Embrace Pokémon was able to avoid the worst of it this time, instead using the time to rebuild his Echoed Voice pattern with a quick one-two. The second one connected; the first one fizzled on a patch of earth that was sent upwards from tremors.

It was about the resonance. Not the attack itself.

A Psywave assaulted gardevoir, who was forced to Teleport away yet again, but the pattern repeated itself, with another Earthquake, and without psionic powers, there was no way for him to actually stop this. Eventually, the shaking would take its toll and there would be some kind of fall or something that was just wrong. Or a Hypnosis scored a lucky hit.

Max had to force something, but he needed gardevoir to be near him to mention the plan.

Four Teleports, three blocked Echoed Voices, one unblocked Echoed Voice, and a missed Future Sight later, gardevoir reappeared right in front of Max, maybe ten feet away. "Get in close, then Echoed Voice."

They had to try. Or they would lose. The Imprison would fade, and with psionic powers reactivated, the durant wouldn't stand a ghost of a chance.

All or nothing. Win or lose. Gardevoir gathered his energy, Teleported, and…

Nothing. Because bronzong had been waiting for that moment, immediately grabbing gardevoir psionically and unleashing a Psychic assault to block him from Teleporting away. Without psionic powers of his own, there was no way he could fight it off effectively. A Disarming Voice tried, but in response, he was flung onto the ground, and then bronzong went in for the Heavy Slam.

Max returned gardevoir before that hit. The red of Imprison faded, and the announcer declared the winner.

Regina.

He had walked into the trap, but it had been lost with gardevoir not having access to anything good. Echoed Voice only did that much. "You did well," Max whispered into gardevoir's pokéball. "The fault is mine."

He looked up, and surprisingly, he saw Regina crossing the arena, not basking in the applause that was going on. She was moving at a good pace too. "You put me through my paces, Max. And I'd like to say I'm sorry for what durant did to your sceptile."

She sounded sincere enough, and had seemed it yesterday. "Why weren't you there in the middle?" he asked as he tucked gardevoir's pokéball onto his new belt.

"I had no intention of getting in something heated. You _are_ a teenage boy, and I'm told you have tempers. Or something," she joked, before fixing him with a serious stare. "For real. I saw something like this before, and coming in if you're the Trainer of the Pokémon that just injured another can be volatile. Silence is golden in such a time."

Max wouldn't know. He'd have to ask Ash about that time in Sinnoh. Or someone else. But it sounded true enough. "Okay. That makes sense. I wouldn't have bit your head off, though."

"Not even my knee?" Jirachi, that was _awful._ And he couldn't stop the smile because of it. "Look, how about we grab some brunch tomorrow. My treat, as a bit of penance for what happened."

"Er… Sure?"

"It's a date, then," Regina said, and Max knew he was missing _something_ there.

Then he realised they'd just had a private conversation in front of an entire stadium without hearing the stadium, and he glanced at the alakazam he knew was sitting off to the side, nodding in thanks.

The roar of the crowd came rushing back.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Serena slipped into the room quietly enough that Danny almost didn't notice, except he spotted something in the reflection on the window as he was looking outside. She only did it this quietly when she wanted to talk about something. "Close the door."

She did so. "You're scary perceptive sometimes, you know that?"

Danny shrugged, turning around and seeing their Kalos companion bend to pick up something from one of their packs. "Why's this here?"

It was Max's old belt. "He needed a new..."

"I know that," Serena interjected, and the eye roll was audible. "He hasn't thrown it away yet?"

Another shrug. "He bought it Friday, but we had other things on our mind since." A moment of thinking. "Should probably do some cleaning out before we leave. There's a couple things that aren't really needed."

"I'm not sure I want to understand why you keep that around," the Kalosian girl said, adopting a put-on frown.

She didn't need to say it, but Danny knew what she was thinking. "Yeah, yeah, boys aren't as neat."

"You know it," Serena said, causing Danny to snort. "You surprised he's in the third place match again, but this time, you're not?"

That was a bit of a mood whiplash, and he sat down on the nearby bed, while Serena grabbed one of the chairs. "Y'know, Max asked the same question last night." A shake of his head showed what he thought of that. "Sure, we both put in a lot of work, but between the two of us, he's always been the more driven, and maybe more importantly, he's the one who's better at thinking on his feet and also out of the box."

"What do you mean by that? The latter, I mean," came a clarification. "I saw enough of the former in Kalos."

"I wouldn't have thought of the shove them underwater trick in the quarters. And not just because I don't have a Psychic-type. It's an underhanded trick and I just don't use those a lot." There were a couple of exceptions, but for every one of those, Max had pulled something at least five times. Including that one with vulpix against Regina's pelipper and gengar. "He's a lot more willing to fight unfair."

Serena mulled it over for a bit, and Danny let it happen, watching her to try and figure out something, but she didn't reveal any of her thoughts except the ones he already knew: she wasn't against it, but she was still a bit reluctant to admit that. "I mean, after yveltal..."

"I'm hardly blaming him," Danny said, smiling to show her that he was sincere. "But remember what we use to trigger our Mega Evolutions. He wants to stop things from happening, pre-empt whatever the opponent is doing. Using a Technical Knock Out like that is just a ruthless version of that. Attacking quickly into a disabled opponent is the same."

"Didn't see you defending a lot against Marcus."

He returned the stuck-out tongue. "It was pretty hard to. Always something or other that stopped it."

"He _was_ good. You might end up being knocked out by the winner two times in a row."

Danny winced exaggeratedly. "Yeah, that's going to make me feel better," he said, rolling his eyes; Serena mirroring. "Kidding aside, that's what ten years of experience will do to you."

"Max nearly overcame that yesterday."

"Max told me that he suspected Regina might've underestimated him, late last night. Somewhere, or something. Just a hunch." Danny shrugged. "I think he's selling himself short again, but we've been over that _plenty_ of times."

"Tell me about it." Both of them laughed softly. "Where is he now, anyway?"

"Figuring out if it's true. That's what they talked about on the field, yesterday – to talk a bit about the match." And more, Danny assumed based on what he had heard before the sound technicians had figured it was a conversation that was meant to be private. Or as private as possible. "Somehow, he always finds a way to make friends at tournaments." And come to think of it, he liked that side of Max a lot more.

"You just thought of something else," Serena pointed out, and after a moment's thought, Danny shared it. "That makes sense," she continued. "You told me about hating mopey Max, and we both don't like his secret keeping… And he did the same with Hugo and Chris." She paused. "I think it's sort of a..."

"A-what now?" Danny said into the silence that fell when Serena seemingly realised she couldn't really say what she was thinking. "C'mon. After all we've been through?"

It was definitely something embarrassing, judging by the blush, but the Performer slash Coordinator steeled herself. "Alright. It's sort of adorable. How he's so closed and makes friends so easily here."

"A.. _Adorable?"_ Whatever he'd been expecting, _that_ was not it. "I… That's not a word you use for boys." Not out loud past the age of seven. Though… There was this one time he'd rather forget.

"Well, I did so," Serena shot back, demeanour vaguely superior, despite the blush.

"You try telling Max he's that. See if you get out without getting ice cubes or something down your back."

"With this weather again?" Serena said, glancing at the stripe of sunlight barely making it into the room. It wasn't as bad as it had been, but it was still warm enough that the stadium was going to be pretty hot. "I'd be mad for about five seconds."

 **~~§~~§~~**

The heat outside wasn't as bad as it had been, but slipping inside into the hostel Ash had been staying in was still more comfortable. He got a few strange looks as he moved through the building, and a slightly lisping boy with two half-missing front teeth asked if he could autograph something, but reaching the room Ash had taken for the time he was in Silver Town was pretty easy otherwise. The door was closed, but not locked, and he strode in.

"Oh, hey Max," Ash said, not looking up and staying focused on brushing pikachu's fur with a brush made for Electric-types. "Danny kick you out early or something?"

He didn't answer until he sat down on the bed, tilting his head and smiling at the obviously relieved rodent on Ash's lap. Who smiled back despite having his eyes closed. "Been out for a bit already. Talk to Regina about yesterday."

Two more strokes of the brush, and pikachu jumped laps, giving a tiny static shock as he did so. "Are you annoyed that you lost like you did?"

"At myself more than anything," Max admitted. "Don't know if I could've _won_ after sceptile. Regina thought so,but bronzong and gardevoir..."

"You'll come up with something so it doesn't happen again," Ash said, sounding certain of it. "But that was then. Different battle today. Ready to clip some flying Pokémon?"

"Least I can use manectric," Max muttered with a glance at his wristband. "That Grudge was nasty. Never even heard of it, and I'm supposed to be the one of us who knows a lot."

"Uh-uh," Ash said, and pikachu's tail slapped Max's side warningly. "Today. Not yesterday."

"Right." Max took a moment to shove all of that annoyance away. Mostly. The best he could. "Manectric's an option. Ninjask and xatu are natural fits. Let's start with those three."

A short and hearty laugh shot through the room. "Just remembered that xatu knows Synchronise. That'll hurt anything that isn't a Dark-type," was the Pallet Town teenager's explanation. "That's your plan to deal with the charizard?"

"It's one way," Max agreed, mind flashing back to the redundancy that Regina had nailed him with. She had gone into a lot of detail on why she selected each Pokémon, and they'd ended up discussing each other's strategy. He'd come away with a bunch of good ideas. "I can probably include clefairy too. Gravity is a harsh mistress. Going to need two of my strongest Pokémon for the last slots, though..."

"And because you you went all-out yesterday, shelgon's too tired. Sceptile… Well, he's out for a week," Ash stated matter-of-factly. "Gardevoir can work but if I know you… Maybe not?"

"Third time in a row feels bad, y'know. And that swoobat probably knows Imprison too." Annoyance crept into his voice again when he mentioned that move and pikachu climbed up onto his left shoulder afterwards; the electric current so near calming and warning both. "Echoed Voice and Disarming Voice do a lot more here at least. Guess I can include him."

"It's not like relying on a Pokémon is bad." Max craned his head to look left, raising his hand to remove pikachu from his sight. Ash's starter took matters into his own paws and jumped shoulder to his right. "It's about who's best. And you and gardevoir are scary."

The thought of 'not nearly enough' remained just a thought. "You've convinced me. So that's five. Any more good ideas for the last?"

"What's left?"

"Vulpix, but she's tired from yesterday," Max started ticking Pokémon off on his fingers. "Baltoy's a third Psychic-type and tired. Meowstic's a third Psychic-type. Doublade is a Ghost-type, which counts as well for that. Deerling is too new and is Grass-type. Piloswine works best at short ranges and you can't close the distance into fliers." That was one hand and a thumb down, and with the other Pokémon he'd mentioned before that were bad, there was only one left over. "Guess it's poliwhirl by default. And that sounds bad."

"She's plenty strong, but Water-types are often a little tricky to use. Half of what she did in the quarter-final wouldn't have been possible in dry weather," Ash pointed out calmly. "And today's weather isn't as good for her. She can annoy that charizard, though."

"That's true."

"You managed to impress Misty with that show, by the way. And she was wondering if you'd given thought to evolving your Pokémon, because if not, she has some items to spare."

Max let out a chuckle, and Ash joined in. "Bet she does. She's got a politoed, right?"

"And a poliwrath as a Gym Pokémon."

"Not surprised about that either, but poliwhirl wants to stay one, so she's staying one." As it was for every Pokémon of theirs that could evolve through an item. Except dusclops, who was ambivalent. But Reaper Cloths were rare and hellishly expensive, and though money wasn't a real problem for them, it would be if Danny outright bought one. "And honestly, you're one to talk, mister bulbasaur in the Indigo final."

"Leech Seed was useful. As you said it would be."

"I _do_ know things," Max replied, sounding self-important even to his own ears, and he recoiled a bit inwardly. "Wait. Was that how I sounded… Y'know… When we first met?"

"Pi-ka-pi."

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _ **Sinnoh Showdown in Johto Finals!**_

 _After the two semi-finals, Sinnoh's own Marcus Palun and Regina Kumar will face off in the final of the Silver League Conference. Palun took care of business with a brutal 6-2 victory over Kanto's Ivan Hammet, while Kumar won 6-4 in a match that was marred by an unfortunate injury for her opponent's sceptile. Max Maple of Hoenn had been leading up to that point, but Kumar ended stronger than she started._

 _It is the sixth time the two will meet in an official match. Previous results are tied: 2-2 in League matches, and a tie in an invitational tournament last summer. With the impending resignation of Kumar and Palun prevaricating about his future in Pokémon battling as well, this could be the last time two of the strongest Sinnoh Trainers of recent times will face off against each other._

 _The match starts at approximately 4:30pm, local and Sinnoh time._

* * *

 **Author's Note:** And that was Max's semi-final, ending on a sour note through no fault of his own or his opponent. It's the equivalent of playing sports and then twisting your ankle when you and someone on the other team clash a bit too hard. Shit happens.

That being said, there was more to it than just that, and the denial strategy (Grudge, Imprison) and multiple redundancies to Max's three strongest Pokémon were fun to figure out and craft into a coherent whole. Hopefully it went well.


	31. Splitting The Party

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 30: Splitting The Party**

Max had been chosen to select his Pokémon first, and he sent out ninjask, as he'd told them ahead of time. Danny, Serena, and Evan were sitting on the bench, with Chris and Ash somewhere in the audience because the rules didn't allow more.

Then Ivan sent his Pokémon out, causing Evan to snigger, and Danny could understand why. The Flying-type specialist had sent out a Pokémon that couldn't fly, and Max had. "Dodrio are weird," the oldest of the three said, shaking his head. "Three heads are good for dealing with ninjask, though."

The match started as anyone would expect. Ninjask flew up high, hiding in the summer sun, while dodrio down below on the grassy field waited for an opportunity to counter. Neither Trainer said anything either, until Max broke the silence with a terse "Now."

A trio of Shadow Balls came down from above, and while one head intercepted one with no hurt to itself, thanks to the Normal-type immunity, the other two crashed into the ground, throwing up dirt and grass as the Bug-type sped downwards. Dodrio took a step back out of instinct, and just like that, the first hit was Max's as ninjask raked over the brown body without any interference whatsoever.

Coming back for a return was cancelled when two of dodrio's heads individually launched a Tri Attack. They both missed miserably thanks to rapid adjusting of course, and then five ninjask appeared, all flying off in separate directions. "Huh, that's smart."

"Yeah," Danny agreed with Serena as the quintet of bugs came in from all sides. The speed suggested they were going for a set of Fury Swipes. "Four heads, five ninjask."

Which one was real wasn't figured out in time – the one that was intercepted, coming from dodrio's front right, was a fake – and the group swarmed all over and under Ivan's Pokémon, getting in three or four solid swipes and leaving bits of feathery fur behind, if the announcer's words were right.

Double Team vanished, revealing the real ninjask to be between dodrio and Ivan, but in the time it took the Triple Bird Pokémon to turn around, Max's Pokémon had gone into the air again. A pair of weaker Shadow Balls rained from above, both intercepted with a good split from the two heads on the side, while the middle one threw a Tri Attack into the air.

Too bad that there was no attack run incoming. Instead, ninjask pushed himself into an Agility, making it pretty much impossible for anyone to follow him between the speed and the glare of the August sun. Ivan recognised it, telling dodrio to wait and counter.

It would have to do better than it had done so far.

The Uproar was a counter Danny hadn't expected, and the waves of sound slammed into ninjask, turning his Slash into a crash, but as fast as the attack had thrown ninjask off, he was equally fast at getting out of Drill Peck range of an angry dodrio who had still not come off great itself.

Sure, ninjask was light, but at that speed? Anything hurt when enough speed was involved, and between Agility and the Ability of ninjask to only pick up speed the longer battles went, speed was not a problem.

They'd measured it recently. If already flying, ninjask could cross a full-size arena like this one lengthwise in two and a half seconds. Which was something like seventy feet per second. He couldn't do it all the time, but they were known for being fast and very manoeuvrable Pokémon.

Oh, and that was horizontal only. This was a half-dive.

Of course, _crashing_ at that speed was also painful, but it came with the territory, and after a couple more exchanges, it became clear that dodrio really wasn't up to the task of stopping ninjask. It had tried Uproar twice more, but both times, Max's Pokémon had done some sort of roll that got him out of the way of dodrio before moving with the attack. It probably still hurt, but not as much as the slashes that he delivered once he was able to – Ivan's non-flying Flying-type couldn't fire off continuous Uproars, despite being able to form them pretty fast.

"Why isn't Ivan returning dodrio?" Serena asked as a Tri Attack sparked onto the grass near Max after missing ninjask by about ten feet. "Ninjask is too fast for it."

"He's hoping that he can get one more lucky hit, I guess," Danny said. Both of them knew that Max and his Pokémon weren't likely to make that an option. Not unless there was some other attack.

As it turned out, there was none, and when dodrio mis-stepped after trying to use Drill Peck, putting one clawed foot into a small hole created earlier by the Shadow Balls, ninjask pounced, slashing and scything and skimming all over Ivan's Pokémon, finishing by landing near its rear, biting down with Leech Life, and then zooming off when the left head came in with a Drill Peck that now hit a sore area.

"And that, Evan, is why Max's ninjask can be really hard to go up against," Danny told the teenager from Lilycove, getting a stuck-out tongue in response. "Sure, he can be countered, but if you don't..."

"Yeah yeah," Evan said, making a throw-away gesture. "Must be hard to get ninjask this disciplined though."

"It's worth it."

Ivan sent out a yanmega without too much hesitation, and Max immediately returned ninjask, not deliberating at all before sending clefairy out to combat Ivan's speedy Bug-type. "No aerial speedster battle here! Instead, the roles are reversed. Will Max be able to stop the onslaught that Ivan couldn't, or will speed carry the battle twice?" the announcer said before the referee signalled the second round to start.

The opening Metronome was a whiff, and clefairy abandoned the attack as soon as she could. Earth Power spread through the arena, making a mess of it, but that wasn't going to hurt yanmega anything, and the… What was yanmega's classification again? Danny got his Pokédex out while Ivan's green Pokémon started throwing out Sonicbooms like they were nothing.

Clefairy also blocked them like they were nothing; Disarming Voice being pretty effective at stopping them due to the wide area she projected it over.

Ogre Darner? Okay? Who'd come up with something that obscure?

In the arena, the roles had continued to be reversed, with yanmega throwing out attacks from range and clefairy successfully avoiding being hit one way or another. Flying rocks from Ancientpower she jumped away from, Air Slashes were blocked with Disarming Voice, and as Danny thought that, the Sonicboom was also blocked, yet again.

The defender's advantage of having to expend less energy to block something meant that yanmega would probably tire before clefairy would. Ivan recognised that as well, and a Bug Bite was ordered.

The green Pokémon ploughed into the ground under the sudden increased gravity, while clefairy used her mastery of the attack to exclude a small area around herself, allowing her to jump over the bug, starting a Metronome as she fully dropped the Gravity.

What came out was not an attack Danny had ever witnessed. It was a beam; vivid pink, from clefairy's hand. She barely held it under control, which meant it was powerful, and yanmega, who'd gotten up from the ground and was attempting to put distance between it and its opponent was hit on the tail. It was sent spinning, but no crash happened. "What was that?!" Evan exclaimed loudly from the other end of the bench.

The announcer was dumbfounded as well, asking the audience to come and tell him if anyone knew what the attack was before resuming the usual commentary.

Max ordered a Disarming Voice to follow up as yanmega went into the air, settling into a holding pattern, but the attack was weaker than it had been before.

It wasn't some kind of Hyper Beam or Frenzy Plant, or Disarming Voice wouldn't have worked at all, but the fact that Disarming Voice was weaker despite clefairy not being hit suggested it was one of the other moves that affected the ability to work with a Type. "Fairy-type Overheat?" Danny answered Evan's earlier question, not certain himself.

The weaker Disarming Voice was cause for yanmega to start a barrage of Air Slashes, and one of them connected with clefairy, though a bit of Gravity manipulation ensured that the second one missed as the Fairy-type dropped faster than she should've. It probably hurt, but better than to be hit by another attack and be juggled in the air.

A Sonicboom connected as she got up, about ten feet away from the lengthwise boundary, but that was the last, as she managed to push out a Disarming Voice that was back up to regular strength, or at least good enough to block anything that would come in from range.

And yanmega immediately went back to the plan of hitting the Fairy-type physically. This time, white energy enveloped it as it began its descent – Double Edge at an angle.

The Gravity manipulation wasn't enough. Clefairy did manage to get it to crash, but her jump was too late, resulting in her being clipped by the yanmega's tail. The momentum carried over, and because she was so close to the arena's edge, it caused her to not fly all that far, instead hitting a transparent wall.

And through the pain that must have caused, she still managed to generate a Metronome as she fell down.

The landing wasn't perfect, but she pointed one arm in yanmega's direction, and purple thread spun into existence. Familiar purple thread. "That's useful."

"Yanmega looks a bit dazed from the crash already," Serena said as a few threads hit the Bug. They were snapped a moment later by a violent Air Slash into the ground, but unlike diggersby, there was no barrier between Toxic Thread and skin for casual hits. Some of the poison had seeped in, Danny didn't doubt it. "You think it's not that strong?"

Danny shook his head minutely, keeping an eye on the yanmega, who'd gone on a rampage of an offensive with Ancientpowers and Air Slashes flying everywhere. Clefairy was barely managing to keep everything at bay, not helped by the shields to her back showering her with debris from stopped rocks. "It's strong, but clefairy is as big of a counter to flying Pokémon as Max has outside of manectric. If you can't break her Disarming Voice," he said as clefairy used that attack to counter an X-shaped Air Slash, "then you need to get in close."

"And then Gravity."

"Exactly." As he said that, clefairy got hit on the side by a rock. "She'll win it. Now it's just about minimising hits she takes."

Yanmega revealed a final attack in its arsenal: a Silver Wind that looked a bit untrained, but because Ivan's Pokémon was able to push out three or four waves of it in one go, Disarming Voice wasn't enough to block, meaning clefairy had to dodge it. Which she did, with a mighty jump, but that was all the time needed for the green to blur into an Agility.

"Metronome," they heard Max order, and Danny's mouth dropped open in surprise.

"What?!" Serena agreed with him. "Why?"

Danny didn't answer, focusing on clefairy and trying to keep an eye out for yanmega slipping into Double Edge instead of Agility. He saw the random attack start to trigger, but the Bug-type appeared above and behind Max's Fairy-type.

"Turn, up."

And the Freeze-Dry crashed right into Ivan's Pokémon. The attack caused yanmega to be displaced so that the Double Edge missed entirely. By inches, sure, but still a miss.

"That was close," Serena said as yanmega's picture was greyed out on the scoreboard. "That could've ended worse."

"Same as ninjask. Speed is a _big_ factor, and Ivan knew how to use it. If that Metronome hadn't done anything..." He shrugged. "Bit of luck never hurts."

The next Pokémon from the Kantonian teenager was a fairly rare one, even not fully evolved. "Togetic? Huh."

 _Togetic, the Happiness Pokémon. It will shower kind-hearted people with happiness, but if it's not with kind people, it will become dispirited and leave._

There was no doubt in Danny's mind that Ivan and his togetic were good friends, as the two touched arm-to-shield-to-hand for a moment before the Fairy-type floated off to a ready position.

And both of the Pokémon started off with a Metronome attack.

The ground around clefairy exploded in ash and smoke, and a stream of superheated smog and fire erupted from Max's Pokémon – Lava Plume, Danny recognised. At the same time, a Gust was whipped up by togetic, and it was powerful enough to divert the smog and to hinder the fire, giving the levitating Pokémon time to get out of the way.

As a bonus, the grass was now smouldering, and as Danny watched, it turned to burning in one place. "Incoming bad pun."

Serena had enough time to make a surprised noise before the announcer said that the battle was really heating up now, and as one, the stadium groaned.

Clefairy and togetic weren't worried, having just moved to a different area of the arena. A Fairy Wind ruffled some hairs on Max's Pokémon, but the Disarming Voice that came out in return was only barely avoided. "Togetic doesn't look that fast."

"No," Danny agreed with Evan. "So it's probably strong in another way."

That other way turned out to be the ability to throw Ancientpower after Ancientpower at clefairy after deliberately being hit by a Disarming Voice to seize back the initiative. It was impressive to see, even if avoiding rocks was something that the smaller Fairy-type could do all day.

It was part of their regular training, after all. Slowly but surely, she started to close the distance with the togetic.

The wind was picking up a bit, causing the patch of fire to start spreading, and a haze to descend over the arena. It was still not threatening to clefairy in any way, but there was something about it that wasn't right.

With a quick jump, clefairy leapt towards togetic, summoning Magical Leaves at the same time. It flew out of the way, making clefairy land underneath it, but the leaves stopped it from getting an actual hit in with something.

Or not. A mirroring sheen overtook Ivan's Pokémon for a second, and unmistakable Magical Leaves flew _from_ togetic _to_ clefairy. "Oooh, good Mirror Move."

Serena was right. The Mirror Move couldn't have come at a better time, interrupting the concentration needed to execute another Metronome. Then the source of the wind became clear as a ball of blue energy appeared out of nowhere, and the Future Sight slammed into clefairy, sending her flying straight in the direction of the fire.

Togetic took immediate advantage, delivering a Fairy Wind that incidentally fanned the flames, and clefairy was less able to tank through it this time. She staggered, and Ivan pounced. "Barrage clefairy!"

She got in one more Disarming Voice before a rock hit her in the head.

There was no hesitation on Max's end. He immediately sent out ninjask, and it wasn't hard to see why. With the ground on fire – even if it was just a tenth of the arena – staying in the air was a smart proposition. And ninjask could probably take out the togetic, Danny thought. It didn't seem like it'd do well into the type of speed that the bug could use.

Though an Ancientpower was probably lights out with one hit. High risk, high reward.

Togetic was immediately put on the defensive, being forced to use rocks as defensive tools to avoid the Shadow Balls coming in from afar, but by the time that they could be used offensively, ninjask had vanished into Agility again. Danny had kept an eye on him, and was able to have an idea of where the Bug-type was, but togetic either wasn't or knew better.

Not that Max's Pokémon was ever going to get hit by a random toss of rocks.

Out of nowhere, ninjask reappeared, being all over togetic and slashing several times in a furious assault, before getting out of the way of rocks.

"Metronome."

It was strange hearing someone not-Max order that move, but togetic did waggle its fingers before becoming outlined in an orange glow, unmoving for a second before dropping it to float underneath a Shadow Ball.

Counter hadn't worked, but second time was clearly the charm, or at least that seemed to be togetic's thinking. This time, it produced a lot more. Maybe a bit too much more, in fact, as it inhaled before letting out a tornado of fire. A loose one, but still.

The Fire Spin did nothing to ninjask. The field… That was not so lucky. "At this rate, Max has to send poliwhirl out just to firefight."

That caused Serena to giggle and Evan to chuckle, even as ninjask blasted through a Fairy Wind to deliver a Slash – before nearly being hit himself by one thanks to a quick Mirror Move. A debris-filled Ancientpower did connect, but so did the Shadow Ball that broke togetic's concentration, and from there, ninjask delivered a painful-looking slice onto togetic's shell-pattern belly.

The wind picked up a bit, alerting all of them to an impending Future Sight, but Max didn't need to tell ninjask that it was coming. Instead, he ordered a full out offensive, and with a Double Team and a Slash, the Bug-type went to work.

Togetic fell down to the ground before the Future Sight could form, as it just didn't have enough speed at Ancientpower to effectively deal with the devilishly quick Ninja Pokémon. It wasn't out yet, and one last Metronome produced a weak Dragon Pulse that took Max's Pokémon by surprise, but the X-Scissor and just the velocity were enough to knock Ivan's Pokémon out.

Max returned ninjask, and Future Sight passed by harmlessly four or five seconds after that had happened, meaning he hadn't pulled his Pokémon out of harm's way.

Score three to one by break time, and one field on fire. A couple of Water-types emerged from Pokéballs to quickly stifle the flames as both Trainers headed away.

Unsurprisingly, Max looked pretty happy when he sat down beside the three of them after being thrown a bottle by Evan. "Looking good there," Danny told him. "Not sure how much use ninjask is going to be, though."

"Don't think it matters," was the reply. "If I'm right about what's next, he's still got one Pokémon ninjask is good against. I just need to hope Ivan doesn't send it out right now."

"What _has_ he got left then?" Evan asked, leaning in front of Danny to see his cousin.

"Charizard, swoobat, gliscor."

Once, everyone not Max – Danny included – would've asked how he'd come by that statement, but now? They accepted it. From what Danny knew or could guess, it was pretty likely that all three were going to show up. The charizard was powerful and the gliscor was a forced inclusion to deal with Electric-types. Swoobat was a bit more of a hedge bet, but it had done a lot of work in the quarter-final and it was resistant to Max's Psychic type Pokémon.

"What are ya going to do about them?"

Oh, right. Evan didn't know about the trick xatu had up his… wings? Danny hung back, figuring that Max would deal with it. "Same thing that happened to Olympia and Falkner."

"Wha?"

The Pokédex was fished from a trouser pocket, and after two taps – had he really expected Evan to ask that specific question? – Max handed it over. "Read."

The wait wasn't long. "Fucking hell," the curse-happy teenager exclaimed, making Danny glad that there were no microphones on the dugout – and they didn't transmit the ones the Trainers were wearing during the breaks. "That… It..."

"Is a really nasty move," Max finished for his cousin. "Hard to learn. Feedback issues sometimes, and pretty niche on _some_ Pokémon – like Exploud. But Flying is one of the most common Types to see, and turns out my opponent has a team full of them..."

The fake innocence held for a few seconds, before all of them burst into chuckles. "And you've probably fixed the feedback problems?" Serena asked.

"Mostly. Shows up on repeated use by now." A shrug. "Seems perfectly acceptable to me."

"Who else is here?" Evan asked, but before Max could answer, the time warning echoed through the stadium. Some water was quickly gulped down, and as it went down, Max tapped his wrist and heart in quick succession, before moving back. "Is that..."

"Yup. Seems like there was one good bit about Regina draining and stopping them yesterday."

"Because they're not tired from overtaxing," Serena added. "Can gardevoir even do that without doing what he did in Blackthorn?"

"Probably. But today's not the day we find out, I think."

Pokémon had to be sent out simultaneously, and it became a classic fire against water match-up. Specifically: the charizard Max had predicted to be there and poliwhirl. Who seemed to be concentrating deeply already.

The reason became clear immediately. As the charizard took to the skies before unleashing a Flamethrower, poliwhirl sent a globe of blue into the air above, and clouds rapidly started forming there in what would probably be a very localised shower.

The fire connected, but the rain started to fall, intensifying to downpour in the blink of an eye, and poliwhirl emerged from the attack not unscathed, but fine, and healing with every bit of rain she was soaking up. "Does charizard know Sunny Day?"

Dragon Rage rained down on poliwhirl, who dove and rolled out of the way before lobbing a Water Pulse upwards – one that was contemptuously swatted aside by a Dragon Tail. "Guess not," Danny told Serena. "If it did, Max would've returned poliwhirl, but now, he'll like her chances."

"Why?" Evan asked as Water Gun and Flamethrower created steam in mid-air.

"Poliwhirl can do this for a long time, and if charizard wants to do something, Flamethrowers aren't going to be enough. Not from this far," Danny said, before seeing an eerie glow build up in charizard's throat. "That counts."

The Inferno bore down on the field. The purple-tinted flame blossomed out as it hit the ground, scorching everything in a large area, but poliwhirl had managed to slide out with the help of the wet grass. She lobbed a Water Pulse up, but again, the Dragon Tail made short work of it.

Water Gun, at least, connected, but at that distance, gravity meant that it had lost a good portion of its strength, and another Inferno was starting to build up.

A repeat from before happened. Another bit of the arena was set aflame, with the rain quenching it, and the grass turning to ash and soot in the process.

And in it, Danny saw the plan. Charizard was just going to take away all movement options poliwhirl had so it could force a stand-and-trade. One that it expected to win.

Sure, they were generally boastful Pokémon, but that seemed a hard sell when it had to launch at least six more Infernos of equal strength.

But numbers three, four, and five all happened, the first two followed by a counter from poliwhirl and a Dragon Tail to smash the Water Pulse away, and one pulse of Rain Dance straight up into the clouds to keep the rain coming.

But then, charizard suddenly started moving, slipping into a dive and enveloping itself in flame – a Flare Blitz. Poliwhirl was caught off guard, but a Water Gun straight down gave her enough upward momentum that she avoided the full-on charge and instead only got hit with a wing flap upwards from the Fire-type, tossing her to the side.

Ivan's Pokémon banked before landing, and a Flamethrower came out, meeting a Water Gun that poliwhirl broke off immediately. The flame scorched the earth where she had stood, but she wasn't there any longer, and a Water Pulse quickly connected before she pushed out a Bubblebeam that met a Dragon Rage.

Flamethrower, Water Gun, Fire Spin, dodge, Dragon Rage, Bubblebeam. All while the charizard inched forwards, pushing poliwhirl into, roughly, a corner. It seemed to want to get in close for some reason.

And Danny had an idea of what it could be, but he wasn't going to look it up. He'd find out if he was correct soon enough.

Max had other ideas. "Water Pulse the ground."

Poliwhirl understood immediately, firing off a globe of water with high power. It hit the ground, breaking apart and splashing up like it was some kind of cannonball in a swimming pool. Dragon Tail couldn't block this, and a Flamethrower wasn't fast enough to catch the slippery blue Pokémon as she dove forward, looking to get near charizard's weakest point.

The tail.

A Water Gun hit its belly as the orange Pokémon adjusted to shield its tail from the concentrated water, and a challenging roar erupted. A Bulldoze went out, throwing poliwhirl off balance, and then the Fire-type lunged forward, with electricity on its left fist.

Yup, Thunder Punch.

The electricity grounded into poliwhirl, who managed to force out a Water Pulse to make the charizard shove off, but it had done a lot of work, soaked in rain as she was. "They can learn that?"

"It's basically a Dragon-type." And one of the Mega Evolutions actually gave it that typing. "I'm more impressed with the _amount_ ," Danny told Evan. "That's seven moves now, and all different and proficient."

Max ordered poliwhirl to go on the offensive again, and she did so immediately, switching to smaller Water Pulses that would be harder to block. The first one was slashed apart by Dragon Tail, but the second one was aimed perfectly, hitting near the tail and causing a roar of anger to echo around the arena. Inferno built up for a second, but Water Gun stopped that in its tracks.

"To the air," Ivan ordered, and under the covering fire of a Dragon Rage, charizard did so. Poliwhirl used the time to re-seed the Rain Dance clouds up above, turning the shower into a downpour yet again, before throwing a Water Pulse into the air.

Fire Spin turned both attacks into a heap of steam, and a Flamethrower pushed through to graze Max's Pokémon – who had probably seen it coming, but had misjudged the amount that charizard had adjusted its aim by. She got up regardless, throwing a Water Gun straight into another Fire-type attack, and a Water Pulse immediately after.

It hit, and poliwhirl dove forward, making sure to end up underneath the charizard before using a Water Gun straight up while she was lying on her back. The Flying-type banked in the air, slicing through the attack with its wings, but that didn't work as planned, and it lost some height.

Or perhaps that was its plan, because it was now in range of delivering a Dragon Rage before poliwhirl could counter. Ivan urged his Pokémon to take advantage, and another Thunder Punch was attempted – this one grounding into the soaked soil.

One Water Pulse connected, but charizard, it seemed, had had enough. An Inferno built up far faster than any that had happened before, and its flame grew two sizes in the span of the build-up.

Poliwhirl stood no chance, and Max returned her before the Inferno hit, instead immediately sending another Pokémon out. "Thunder!"

Charizard was on the ground, sure. But the ground was wet, and charizard was _soaked_ from the rain and poliwhirl's attacks. Manectric was fresh, and she did not need a Mega Evolution for this.

One Flamethrower connected, but if the yellow Pokémon cared, she didn't show it.

"Poliwhirl was retired, and charizard was knocked out!" the referee announced after the Thunder finished.

"See what I mean?" Danny asked Serena, glancing over to his side for a change and being rewarded with a roll of her eyes. Evan looked on, but seemed a bit confused.

"Isn't that illegal?"

Danny shook his head at the naïve question from the youngest one there. "No. It's a _habit_ ," he stressed, "that there's a tiny break between rounds to allow for switching and adjusting and stuff. But you are allowed to do this if you're fast enough. If you wait too long, though, you have to wait for the referee to get it underway again."

"It's a window of opportunity," Serena added. "Now or never. One that Max _really_ likes."

"He's competitive, what can I say?"

Ivan seemed a bit shocked still at the move, but shook his head and sent out his next Pokémon.

Which was a gliscor, and Max returned manectric, sending out xatu instead.

That, in turn, triggered a new Pokémon, which was the swoobat.

Danny couldn't see Max's face, but he could imagine the expression anyway. Glee would be front and centre.

Imprison came out, and xatu tentatively flapped his wings powerfully, to no avail. "Air Slash and general psychic powers are gone, then," Danny explained for Evan's benefit, because he was fairly sure there was a question coming. "He's going to try to lure the swoobat low, then Teleport behind and blast with Synchronoise."

"You make it sound simple," Serena laughed as the two combatants got to exchanging blows – Air Slash and Hidden Power meeting and doing a load of nothing in the dead space between. There was too much distance, but xatu wasn't going to close it - he _was_ fairly powerless to defend against a psionic hold, so swoobat would have to make the move to close in.

But it seemed like Ivan wasn't particularly keen on doing that. He ordered more Air Slashes, and to mix in Shadow Balls too. At first, that wasn't a problem because the Air Slashes were vertically oriented, but then swoobat wizened up, turning them horizontal and making it harder for xatu to continue his previous work of dodging those and blocking the Shadow Balls.

But Max had an idea. "Ready Ominous Wind and then Teleport."

"You can do that?" Evan asked immediately.

"It's all mental preparation. Probably loses some strength, but… Surprise attacks don't need to be strong."

One Air Slash did connect, but the rest happened the exact way Max had probably hoped for. One Teleport to above swoobat – who was caught entirely unawares – and the Ominous Wind bore down on the flying Pokémon while xatu Teleported to the other side of the arena before going into a glide downwards to shed momentum.

That opened up the floodgates, and as the rain finally petered out, swoobat started living up to its name, swooping in the direction of where xatu was and unleashing a barrage of attacks – two Shadow Balls and an Attract – before visible flaring a psionic aura.

The Attract landed, but Danny felt xatu didn't make too much of an effort to dodge it, and he was proven right when there was no reaction whatsoever. "Looks like two same gender Pokémon here. Ivan's gambit backfired!"

The bird had known that, and with a deft split Hidden Power, he landed another hit on the swoobat, daring it to come closer to try and leverage its psionic powers.

That didn't happen. Instead, electricity formed in front of the Unovan Pokémon, and it seemed like a Shock Wave that went out. A quick adjustment made it swerve around the Hidden Power that xatu threw out to try and block, and the attack connected.

"No more games."

Xatu vanished, reappearing above swoobat, who immediately grabbed xatu, starting to assault him with Psychic. But the attack wasn't powerful enough to dislodge the coming attack from xatu's own psionic powers, and as one, both Pokémon started falling down, with xatu holding on to the attack despite his acceleration as gravity did its work.

But Teleport was a good trick, and the moment he judged swoobat likely to crash, he Teleported out to some place up high, before settling into a high speed glide on the other side of the arena.

Swoobat didn't crash, instead buffering his descent with a Confusion pulse that stopped his momentum enough for the landing to be okay, and another Shock Wave came out, but this time, xatu just Teleported out of the way, resuming his glide while swoobat redirected the attack from afar.

"Get physical."

Did Max mean what Danny thought he did?

Yes. Yes he did.

Xatu went into a dive, heading to the ground as electricity rushed to intercept, but when it nearly did, a quick Teleport turned the diving bird into a diving projectile that landed straight on swoobat. It wasn't pretty or anything, but it knocked both of them around, and Max probably thought his Pokémon would recover first so Synchronoise could be used again.

This was exactly what happened, and swoobat went limp.

"You know, I'm thinking that swoobat are even worse off against that," Serena said as Ivan went down to his last Pokémon – against _four_ of Max, though ninjask and xatu had been battered a good bit. "Because it shares both Types?"

Danny nodded. It shouldn't have been over yet, after only a few exchanges, but if Serena's idea was right… It made as much sense as anything. Either that, or xatu had managed to get some kind of lucky hit, which he really didn't know how it would work for something like that.

Gliscor came out again, and the referee restarted the battle with the Ground-and-Flying type heading into the soil before xatu could grab it. "Just try to sense it."

Max's hint wasn't enough, and it became immediately clear why. Despite xatu trying to hold the gliscor off with a psionic shove downwards, it had come up with claws up front and both of them glowing with Night Slashes. The Dark-type energy worked to punch through the attack, delivering a hard hit on xatu, who was knocked to the ground.

He could Teleport away, but gliscor dove _onto_ the soil, causing an Earthquake.

Max's Pokémon wasn't inconvenienced long, but Teleporting from a position on his back to essentially free-fall probably wasn't a fun thing to do. Especially when a Stone Edge assaulted him as he was gliding down – and the psionic shield he threw up wasn't enough to disintegrate the larger shards, forcing a hasty roll and a rough landing because of it.

Ivan's Pokémon rushed up, lifting up a Stone Edge as a distraction before creating a ranged Rock Tomb near xatu, who was busy trying to deal with the razor-sharp debris and didn't quite make it out in time. Another Teleport away saw history be repeated, but this time, a pulse threw all the debris sent upwards away.

Two Air Slashes carved furrows into the soil, but gliscor was underground. Xatu landed, but immediately went back into the air via Teleport as he sensed the Ground-type coming up – Night Slash up front. One Air Slash connected, while the other was batted aside by an X-Scissor.

Impressive, Danny had to admit.

But it wouldn't be enough. Xatu would probably fall – and as Danny thought that, Max ordered an offensive, meaning they were on the same wavelength, as usual – but gardevoir would clean up. It was a formality.

Hidden Power met Stone Edge, while the Rock Tomb was suppressed by a psionic pulse downwards, resulting in only a molehill being built. Confusion fizzled on Night Slash claws, and gliscor used Earthquake to distract before readying a Stone Edge, but miscalculating when xatu reappeared behind it instead of in mid-air. It cost him a moment of being assaulted with Confusion, but a wild slash downwards hit the ground, causing a slab of rock to appear.

A Bulldoze followed it up, and xatu wasn't in time to steel himself against it, allowing for the Fang Scorpion Pokémon to close the distance and bite down with Thunder Fang.

A few sparks of paralysis ran over gliscor's body, but xatu wasn't able to take advantage of it. Or do anything else. "Xatu is knocked out."

Twenty seconds later, Ivan tapped out. Gardevoir had come out, the referee had restarted, and a quick Dig into Night Slash had ended _very_ badly with gliscor in a hold. That wasn't enough, but when a Stone Edge – which told Danny it was Confusion, not Psychic – was evaporated with a powerful psionic pulse, the Kantonian knew that there was no way out.

Consecutive third places. If anyone still doubted Max's skills… Danny didn't know what to think. His best friend _rocked._

 **~~§~~§~~**

Max had been tempted to sit with his friends when he'd learned that the VIP seats were only for the four Trainers battling on Sunday, but he knew that he was expected to be up there with probably all of the Elite Four and the Johto Gym Leaders.

Well, nearly all of them. Helena's eyes meant she probably wasn't in the box.

About three sets of stairs – he guessed – down from the box, he ran into his opponent looking a tiny bit lost. Reticent. "Hey Ivan," Max greeted the Kantonian, who started a little at his words. "You're going the right way."

"I know." The words weren't loud, but Max was paying attention. He'd seen enough of Ivan to know that soft-spoken was an understatement. "Congratulations. You really wiped the floor with me. Even without that manectric trick."

Max couldn't deny that, but something told him there was more to the earlier words. "I know it sounds a bit rude," he started, drawing on his memories of the year before. "But fourth place is a _good_ result."

"I know," Ivan repeated himself. He glanced around before finally meeting Max's eyes. "But am I the fourth strongest Trainer here?"

It sounded like he'd already answered the question for himself. "And what if you're not?"

That took the blond teen aback. "Huh?"

"Maybe Cara is stronger," Max said, alluding to one of the two opponents both of them had met. Ivan had lost to her in the second group stage, but he, too, had been helped out by the format. "That's just the luck of the draw."

"My quarter-final opponent was a nervous wreck..."

Why did that matter? "And you weren't. Not then, not against Marcus or me. So why the doubts?"

"But I was," Ivan countered, surprising Max. "I… It's hard for me to start. I try to think and… Try to think of a way I can win. But I just start too slow. 'swhy I started with dodrio and why I used charizard then. They're independent. The Infernos were all charizard's idea."

"A classic example of thinking too much," came a voice from up higher, male, refined. A few footsteps and Will of the Elite Four turned the corner on the next landing. "Once you settle into your rhythm, your Pokémon and you react better to each other. A break disrupts that cadence." He started descending the stairs. "But make no mistake. Though variance is a factor, it generally only adds or costs you a single round in a tournament."

Ivan seemed to mull it over, but Max was lost. And he didn't like it. "What do you mean by that?"

"If you'd expect someone to get to the round of 16 based on their quality," Will explained calmly, "then in nearly all scenarios, the result will be either the round of 32, of 16, or of 8. The individual result depends on many factors, like how well the Pokémon match up, whose style is advantageous, and so on. That is the variance."

Max's mind jumped from Ivan to the other Flying-type specialist he had faced in Johto, and a comment he'd made to Danny beforehand. "So if Ivan was a Normal-type specialist, I would've had more problems, but because my Pokémon are well equipped to deal with those who can fly..."

"Accurately put." The Elite Four member turned to the blond. "Though it will not assuage your fears overly so, know that Falkner, whom I know you did not meet, predicted you to have a hard time based on his recollection of the Gym Battle Max had and common knowledge."

"Synchronoise?"

"Got me the Zephyr Badge," Max answered Ivan's one-word question, filing away that Falkner had been watching. There was a question he wanted to ask of the Flying-type Gym Leader and Will combined.

"Now, let's cut this short. The final will start soon, and you will have to introduce yourself to everyone upstairs," the purple-haired man told them, putting one foot on the stairs down. "I shall see you soon."

"Where are you going?"

"The VIP box, alas, does not come with a toilet included off to the side."

 **~~§~~§~~**

The ceremony for the end of the tournament was a lot like the one in Hoenn, Danny mused as he walked in alongside the other trainers who had been defeated in the quarter-finals. It made sense, of course, but he liked the Kalos version a lot more. It was a lot faster, for one.

One difference was that Johto called in the fourth place finisher separately, which was a bit strange. Sure, he had been okay with being fourth, but even then, being put on the spot like that was just not fun. If you weren't okay with the result, finishing just off the podium was the worst place to end up in.

The applause wasn't less for it, though, and Ivan perked up visibly as he walked to his solitary spot to Danny's left, between him and the actual podium.

Max was next, and the applause was deafening. Maybe it was a regular thing, or maybe it was just the fact that his record was _stupid_ stacked for someone his age and the audience getting in on that, but it was, in Danny's very biased opinion, incredibly deserved.

They exchanged a high five in passing before Max stopped in front of the podium, on the far side.

Regina was welcomed next, with applause nearly as great as it had been for Max. The battle between her and Marcus had been amazing to watch, with both of them showing exactly why they'd advanced to the final. She'd taken out the scizor that had come out first without losing too much – just the magnezone and a few exchanges with her aegislash – but Marcus had been tenacious in defending his lead, always barely getting equal exchanges and showing that he, too, could bait out a favoured match-up for the last battle. Volcarona took out bronzong, despite the heavy rocks that were thrown around like they were pebbles.

The medal ceremony was a bit different, with Will, Karen, and Lance doing the respective honours, but after that, and the obligatory Sinnoh anthem, they came to the traditional last part of any Home Region League.

Mr. Goodshow's speech.

"Dear Trainers, young and old, another Conference has ended," the President of the Pokémon League said after the audience had fallen silent. In Danny's opinion, he looked a lot older than he had before – even at the Indigo Conference half a year ago. "Johto's champion has been chosen, not from Johto for the ninth time running, unfortunately for those who hoped for one. Perhaps the tenth time will prove to be the charm."

"We saw great battles here, under Ho-Oh's sacred flame and mostly clear skies. We beheld the ferocious tenacity of the young and the slightly older as they battled the elements that marked this tournament. Fire, as ever, was both friend and foe, lighting the path forward as easily as leading one astray. But if you were, don't worry. There is always another time, and no matter your results; that you are standing here, as one of not all that many, proves your worth as a Trainer."

Danny understood – he thought – but the clapping was decidedly muted. Too abstract or something? "To be a Trainer here, at the end of the Conference, means something. It's not just the eight badges you collected along the way. It's also not whatever position you reached. Mostly – I think a few people might disagree with me," Mr. Goodshow said, which caused a set of chuckles and laughs to pass through the crowd in the arena, dispelling a lot of some unseen tension. "They're fleeting things. What really matters are the experiences you had while getting to this moment. The elation when something went your way, and the dejection when something didn't. The moment you met your starting Pokémon, and the moment you had to watch one of your Pokémon in pain. These moments shape who you are as a Trainer."

"Use the knowledge you got from those moments. Fuel the fire within you. Fuel the fires of friendship and friendly rivalry, of camaraderie and passion. Make something of your life, and remember that even if things look bleak for a moment… As long as even an ember within you remains burning, you can always rise again, like Ho-Oh from the ashes. Be the best that you can be, wherever you go. Maybe that's here, in seven and a half months. Maybe that's elsewhere in the world. Or maybe that's at the Indigo Plateau, in a month and a half. But no matter where it is, always remember that little flame that burns in all of us."

The applause was polite, but the speech in Hoenn had been better. And the one in Kanto had been too, come to think of it. Something had felt off, but he didn't know what.

It wasn't until they'd gotten back to the Pokémon Center that the answer came, with a little help from other people chatting and discussing the same thing.

Mr. Goodshow had been fairly close to Drake, and with the Dragon Master's passing so recent… It was easy to sympathise with the normally excitable and enthusiastic man.

Maybe it was better to have loved and lost, as Danny's Dad sometimes quoted, but that didn't mean the loss part didn't suck. Arceus knew he'd seen that up close a bit too much for his age.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Six teenagers stood just outside of Silver Town, at the path leading in the direction of the Indigo Plateau. It was not as busy as the other main path leading south, but other people leaving the location of the Conference behind were passing by somewhat regularly. A charizard had just been sent out and was currently acting tough while enjoying a neck scratch from Ash and a belly scratch from Serena, while the others were looking on.

Then the Fire-type lowered himself after nudging Serena away. "Well, guess my flight is leaving," Ash quipped, causing everyone else to chuckle, giggle, or laugh outright, charizard included. "Be seeing you in a few months, Max, Danny."

The five others took a few steps back, and with a flap of wings, a muted grunt, and a warm gust, charizard took to the air, rising rapidly to about seventy feet in the air; above all but the tallest trees in the nearby reserve. Then he started moving east, and Max stopped tracking him, instead looking at the remainder of the group. Just in time for Evan to speak up. "Why's he going east? Isn't his place south?"

"Probably visiting friends first." Or Lance, ahead of Drake's funeral. Ash couldn't go there still after everything that had happened. Not that Max or Danny thought they would be okay going back; not after what had happened in June. "You sure you don't want a lift?"

"Nah. Just going to get lost for a month, then end up at Indigo," Evan replied, and Chris nodded beside him. "You'll come watch."

"As if you need to ask," Danny replied for Max, ignoring that it was a demand in the first place. "Can't think of a reason why we wouldn't."

"I don't know yet," Serena piped up apologetically. "It's a long way away, and I don't have a travel service like these two. Gonna depend. If I get one or even two Ribbons, sure, but if not… I need that time."

"Oh. Okay." Evan shook his head, hoisting his pack onto his back a little more firmly. Something banged together in there, but it didn't sound too bad. "Right. See ya around, shorty."

Max rolled his eyes, but watched his cousin and new friend go off. The area north of Silver Town and the Indigo Plateau wasn't somewhere they'd ever been, but it was pretty thinly populated, and he was honestly not sure if that'd be to their liking.

But it was their journey, their choice. "Right, are we ready to go?"

They were, and with a bit of help from xatu, they reappeared in Enion. Ahead of the people leaving, but with enough distance to wherever they wanted to go for some training and actual travelling.

Their sudden appearance also caused some toddler twins to start crying, but Danny, xatu, and their father were quickly able to stop the tears and save the teenagers' ears. "Didn't know Danny was good at that," Serena said, sounding as if she approved. "I thought it was one of your other friends who was good with kids?"

Max shrugged. "Keith, yeah. I dunno either, but I'm not complaining. I sure can't."

"Weren't you the one with the younger cousins?"

Danny's youngest cousin was… Seven? Eight? Older than Max's youngest cousins for sure. "I've seen them maybe three times in the last five years. Then again, Danny didn't exactly have a lot of time to see his family either." Yule before last, Max thought. Unless there'd been some kind of lightning visit just ahead of having to flee Hoenn. "I'm blaming his Dad."

"Blaming?"

He chuckled at Serena's disbelief. "Kinda sorta. Gregory is a bit… I dunno. He likes to joke around a lot, act a bit. Stuff like that." A squeal of happiness caught Max's attention, and he watched as xatu gently lifted one of the young boys into the air. "Danny's been more like him since, y'know."

"Ah," Serena replied, telling him that she probably got what he meant. They lapsed into silence for a bit, watching xatu treat the boys to some fun. "Really hope I can meet your parents one day."

"So do I, Serena," Max said with a sigh. "So do I."

"So you do what?"

"Hoping to meet your parents," the Kalosian answered Danny's question as he rejoined them. Xatu landed off to Max's side with a slight thump. "I know I could go to Hoenn and all, but… It's not the same."

A dark silence fell between them. Max knew roughly what the others were thinking: Serena felt it unfair that they'd been put in this position, forced away from family, and Danny missed his parents and growlithe something fierce. They probably had guessed his as well: that he wasn't thinking about going back to Hoenn at all if he could help it.

Not seeing his parents sucked, and he missed a hundred other small things, but he'd lived with the first for years now, and he could cope with the latter; a little better every day.

"That's enough gloom for now," Danny broke the silence. "We can't help it, so let's just focus on what we can do. Like the Battle Frontier, and the Contest circuit."

"Actually..." Serena said, hesitating for some reason. "I was thinking… Maybe I should challenge a Gym? Just to see where I stand?"

"Curious after the tournament?"

"Yeah. And I'm weaker at that part of Contests, so it should be easier to improve, right?"

"Maybe," Max broke in. "But it's a good idea. Like you said, see where you are." He pulled an exaggerated face. "Just don't expect us to do a Contest."

Serena giggled, but Danny's hum sounded like he didn't agree. "We've seen enough and our Pokémon are skilled enough that we can probably do okay at showing off. Maybe a little practice, but… Could do it if we want to."

And Max didn't want to, really. But he saw the point. "Okay, fair."

His best friend smiled before turning slightly towards Serena. "You're going to Blackthorn and then west, right?" he asked, getting a nod. "Mahogany might work, but Ecruteak's probably better for it."

"Why's that?"

"Morty's a cool guy. He's probably the best for it."

"Morty or Bugsy," Max agreed. "Maybe Pryce too, but like Danny said, there's better options."

"You sure he'll be okay with it?"

Danny yielded to the Gym Leader's son. "Dad got a couple every year, I think. Never saw one because he never let me, but you're not the only one doing it. And that's with most of them probably going to Roxanne, too."

"She's a teacher, right?" Serena asked, sounding half-certain of her memory. "Makes sense."

Another spell of silence fell, but Danny broke it before too long. "Right. We should get going. Before we waste too much time and all standing here."

"Sure." The Coordinator walked up to them, hugging Danny and Max. It felt good, but a little awkward because of all the packs on their backs, he thought. "Good luck with the Battle Frontier!"

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _Following the Silver Conference, Battle Frontier founder Scott announced that eight new Trainers had accepted his invitation. Scott, 39, cited this high number as an effort to make it more accessible and well-known to the public, remarking that previous invites had often been spur of the moment or limited to the top four of a Kanto or Johto League-level tournament._

 _All eight Trainers who reached to the quarter-finals were given an invite by default, as per the new standards. Marcus, the winner of the Silver Conference had already accepted his invite earlier in the year, while his rival Regina will take over the Steel-type Gym in Unova. In their place, two more Trainers were invited by Scott after on-site observations by him and two of the Frontier Brains._

* * *

 **Author's Note:** And done with the League. There's a reason I had that line about Max's team working out better against flying Pokémon back in Chapter 6; this was sketched a long time ago.

Up next, a chapter unlike any other I've ever done.


	32. A Fateful Decision

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

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 **Chapter 31: A Fateful Decision**

Littleroot Town looked quaint in the early morning sunlight, and the fresh air with a slight hint of fish always did do Gary good, causing him to smile as he got off the overnight boat from Pallet. He was pretty sure that sentiment wasn't shared by all others taking the same trip, but a quick look around assured him that everything was roughly as it should be: Trainers were awake and alert, older people travelling for business or something weren't.

With an exception or two, but they confirmed the rule.

He released the borrowed tropius from confinement – he'd asked Ash for a loan. Since his former rival was planning to hop around Kanto from Pewter to Cerulean and then to two of his new colleagues, it had been granted without issue.

He could walk to the Littleroot Laboratory, but that would take an hour or so. He could have used his alakazam's Teleport, but that just wasn't his style. Flying gave him time to think and to bask in the excellent weather of mid-August in Hoenn.

Birch knew he was coming, of course, and met him in front of the building. "Good morning," the man said as Gary swung off tropius, who proceeded to walk off to some nearby trees for food. "Walk with me."

Wondering what the Professor wanted to say that could not be said inside, Gary adjusted his light pack and started walking.

Silence for about a minute, until the lab was thoroughly hidden and the sounds around became those of Pokémon doing morning business. "You said you were searching for a somewhat rare Pokémon. Which one is it? And, if I may ask, why?"

"Comparison, mainly," Gary said, starting with the actual scientific reasoning behind why he wanted to go after this Pokémon. "The literature and common knowledge establishes that the force exerted psionically by a gallade and kirlia remains roughly the same, with the extra power that comes from having an extra evolutionary stage being distributed everywhere else for the gallade. But when reading Copper's article, I noticed that he, and other scientists like him, experimented with groups of kirlia, and groups of gallade."

"And you wish to look at an individual, to both confirm the analysis and to provide a more in-depth look at the phenomenon," Birch finished for him, accurately. "In true Oak fashion, I might add."

Gramps had said much the same. With the caveat that it wouldn't be a headline-grabbing bit of research, but Gary was fine with that. "Exactly. And while there's ralts and kirlia in Kanto, they're rare. Much easier to go here."

"Or to Sinnoh. Which doesn't have the same climate we do," the Professor observed shrewdly. As intended. "What makes you think I know where they are when we deliberately don't ask? And most of the Trainers capturing one don't do it here."

"Are you saying most kids actually stick to those stupid restrictions?" Gary asked, though he knew the answer already. Mareep, the lot of them. "Not even a hint?"

"As said, none of us would know," came the reply as they halted to let a few aipom and ambipom swing from tree to tree. "However, a few weeks back, someone caught a ralts. One that arrived unharmed and was retrieved that same night."

The implication was obvious. Given ralts nearly always lived in family units, with the larger congregations, as he'd learned their groups were called, common as well, the location could be revealing. The unharmed arrival suggested it was a friendly capture as well. "Would the Trainer be willing to help me?"

"She probably would if you explain why. I… I can check the system, see where she last retrieved some Pokémon." The admission seemed to weigh heavily on the Professor's mind, suggesting that it was something he was loath to do, but it did solve the largest problem Gary had identified in the half-minute since hearing of this.

"Much appreciated. You've probably saved me a week of searching."

They resumed walking, going vaguely in the direction of the laboratory, but not the same path they'd taken before. Birch took a furtive glance around. "And any other reason you're here?"

In response, Gary sent alakazam out, waiting for a spoon movement to signal that it was okay. That came. "Some of us realised something about the attacks that have been plaguing Hoenn." He let a pause fall, waiting for an interruption that did not come. "Have you heard of what happened on Mandarin Island?"

The "Yes," surprised him. "I read up on it after the Slateport Festival," Birch explained. "Drowzee, luckily, aren't native to Hoenn, and the ones responsible seem to lack the means to search for or steal one."

Or hadn't thought of it, but _that_ implication was something Gary wasn't going to make within a hundred miles of the landmass he was on. "We think the capability to use Hypnosis, rather than the specific Pokémon, made Mandarin into what it was," he said instead.

"And by we..."

"Lance, Gramps. Myself, too." There were times when humility was warranted. This was one of the rare examples. "We don't know if it's because they haven't realised it, or because the ones that can learn it and are native to Hoenn are limited to just three families, two of which aren't even of the relevant Types, but..."

Birch checked something with himself before giving Gary a strange look. "Three? I count four. Two Psychic-types, two non-Psychic-types." He shook his head. "Granted, neither the ralts line nor lunatone are common or easy to find, and not all of them cultivate the skill."

So much for Gramps's memory, but it was a sour victory. "That only makes the problem worse."

"I agree, but there is little I can do about this apart from protecting the laboratory." Hands were spread, affecting helplessness that was unbecoming of a Professor. "Nevertheless, those I can tell, I will, with all the caution I can muster."

Lance and Gramps would have to make do with that admission. Birch knew the lay of the land better; he'd know who would use the information and who would snitch it. Loose lips sank ships, as he'd once heard a Unovan express. "I'll relay that, then," he said, returning alakazam as a sign that the time for sensitive chat was past. "How's your research into trapinch going?"

"Rather well, but it's a jumbled mess so far. Planning to write it up this week," Birch admitted, scratching his hair sheepishly. "I can give you an overview when you return to Kanto."

 **~~§~~§~~**

May folded the paper she'd been using to figure out where to go for probably the final time. She shoved it into a side-pocket of her pack, hoisted the pack on her back, did one last check to see if she hadn't forgotten anything, and closed the Pokémon Center room behind her. Shima had been a fun little holiday while the Silver Conference was going on, but she had another Ribbon to get in the two remaining months before the Hoenn Grand Festival.

She wasn't really worried about that. She was one of the best Coordinators in the region without a doubt, and this area of Hoenn had the easiest travel because of all the ferries. There were seven Contests that could get her the last Ribbon before October even started, all in the east, all on some of the many islands around.

A Water Contest in the Sootopolis Gym next Sunday, then one in Purika Town on Izabe the Sunday after. Mossdeep the Saturday after that, and then four on smaller islands… Yeah, she felt good about the odds. Especially because she knew some of her rivals weren't in this area at all: Milly was off near Mauville, Alexandra had gotten her fourth Ribbon in Fallarbor yesterday, and Harley was there too.

With a wave to the on-duty Nurse Joy, May left the Pokémon Center behind, walking into surprisingly cool weather. A look up revealed why: off-white clouds and the hour made it cooler. It wouldn't last, but it was welcome while she walked to the harbour and waited to board the boat to Sootopolis.

Ivysaur came out of her ball, looking for some sunlight, and grumbling when there wasn't any. "You could try Sunny Day," May suggested teasingly.

The Grass-type gave her a look of 'you are kidding me', but didn't return herself either, and both of them walked in silence across silent streets.

Halfway to the harbour, a television in the window of an electronics shop caught her attention, and she gave it a quick look before stopping fully.

There'd been another attack. That was normal: they were basically coming daily now, but between most people doing the smart thing and not sending those Pokémon out more than strictly necessary and the restrictions, they weren't doing too much damage. _That_ wasn't what had caught her attention.

What had was the declaration that there was an agreement on more restrictions.

The wait was thankfully short before they appeared on screen in the talk show or whatever it was that was being shown, and May read them quickly, thankful to the producers for putting the old ones in for comparison's sake.

Trainer experience went up to a year and a half, the badge count had gone up to eight instead of six, and the Grand Festival requirements had moved a round up as well. But there was a fourth condition as well, in conjunction with the former, that everyone who hadn't been a Trainer for two and a half years by the first of October would have to follow a mandatory training.

That was going to hit Alexandra by a month, but she was the only one that May knew and could think of.

They looked okay enough, she supposed, but… Something didn't really feel right. The previous restrictions had been in place for eight and a half months now, and if anything, the amount of attacks had increased. The attacks were supposed to have stopped already, or at least diminished, and these weren't going to solve the problem of wild Pokémon.

Drew had pointed that out a few days ago, while they were having one of their calls. It felt good to keep up with him and what he was doing in university. It all went over May's head, but he was having fun, and he was learning a lot. The eighteen year old had successfully passed his first year, and if he missed the Coordinator life, he wasn't showing it. Instead, he seemed to know a lot more now, which made sense because he had spare time from not having to figure out new routines all the time.

And that's how he had softly countered her argument that the restrictions were a good thing. And maybe he was biased, he'd admitted with a look off to the side – absol, May was sure – but he could read as well as anyone, and May had done the same after the call. He'd been right.

But Pokémon outnumbered humans. A lot. Capture and release, like you did with strays, just wasn't going to work. There were too many Pokémon, and too wily to boot.

Maybe… Maybe new restrictions weren't the way to go, May thought as she resumed her walk. But she'd have to think about it. Maybe talk to Drew as well. He did know his stuff, and she liked that he was willing to share the information with her when she asked.

Ivysaur tapped her side gently with one vine, directly above where the Grass-type knew she had her newest Pokémon. Not that it was hard to figure out with the pink ball that clashed badly with some of her clothes. Not the ones she was wearing now – which was a nice dark blue – but red and pink? Blegh.

But it was appropriate for a smoochum.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Alice suppressed a yawn and the urge to flop onto the bed that she'd just dropped her stuff on. Overnight boats were one way to not have to walk down Routes 217 and 216 and up Mt. Coronet to get _anywhere_ , but sleeping on one was never good, and her normal way of fixing that problem hadn't been possible.

Whoever thought you needed beds that narrow should be made to sleep on one. Linda hadn't fared much better, but she took the upper bed, meaning she wasn't as tempted as Alice. "C'mon. Time to see Canalave."

The Coordinator followed, wishing she was better at the whole boat travel thing after doing it three times in under three weeks: to and from Johto to visit her brother, and then Snowpoint to Canalave. They were here for Linda's fifth badge, and there was a Contest in a week and a half not too far away for Alice's fourth Ribbon.

They exited the Pokémon Center into a perfectly fine Sinnoh summer day, but as soon as they did, Linda stopped, looking at the plaza in front of them. "Wait a sec… Aren't tha'..."

Alice followed her friend's lead, seeing a boy and a girl – their age, probably – sitting on a bench in the sun, playing with a leafeon and a houndour. The girl had hair black as ink, and the boy had a yellow stripe in his do.

The last time they had talked to Danny in Johto, he'd told them about convincing Max to try dyeing his hair, also mentioning that one of his other friends had a stripe of pikachu yellow hair. And it wasn't that bright, but that was ages ago. "Y'think..."

"Dunno. Let's see."

Alice followed Linda, who didn't go for the directest approach of plain asking. It was pretty close to it, taking a moment to look at them from the front, and then walking up to ask.

But one of 'em was faster. "Aren't you… Linda and Alice, right?" the boy – Keith – said in a slightly scratchy teenage boy voice. He was wearing an easy white shirt with some black on it. Black that moved when he did, falling to the ground. Fur? "You were at Ever Grande, like a year and a half ago?"

It was them. She wanted to say something, but a wet snout pressing into her hand stopped her. Least she didn't startle, and she looked down at the uneven fur of the houndour while also giving it a chin scratch. The canine leaned into it, eyes closed in bliss. "Yea, that's us," Linda said, probably seeing her occupied. "Knew you were in Sinnoh 'n all, but..."

"It's a surprise," the girl finished. Hadn't she been really shy in Hoenn? Alice glanced up, away from houndour. Jane's eyes moved away from her for a second, but then she smiled. She, like Keith, looked healthy and fit. Normal teenagers out on a journey, with plenty of sun and walking. "Fought a Trainer yesterday, houndour got hit with some Acid. The shedding is normal."

The canine barked once, before padding over to Linda instead. "Was wonderin' 'bout that," Alice said honestly. "Not in the Gym, right?"

"Gym's Steel-types," Linda corrected eagerly. "Acid's a Poison move."

"We're going there after lunch," Keith said as the gorgeous leafeon jumped onto the bench beside him, leaning its head into his side. "Gym Leader doesn't do scheduling, and we took a day off after houndour yesterday."

"And there was other stuff to do on Sunday," Jane added, grinning.

"Oh, hell yeah," Linda said, sitting down next to the black-haired girl. She was taller, but not by much, and a bit more tanned. It was hard to see that, but hands fairly close together helped. "Did you see..."

Alice tuned them out. Battles were fun, but she was about Contests. And to her surprise, Keith smiled at the two of them, like he'd seen them do it a dozen times. Then he stood up, to leafeon's disapproval. "They'll talk for a bit," he said, starting to walk in the opposite direction of where the harbour was. "Let's get them some breakfast."

That sounded like a good idea, and she fell in with the tallest of them all. Leafeon also did so, and after a short think, her ninjask joined in. He zoomed around them a bit, happy to be out. "Haven't been givin' ya enough time to fly, huh."

The bug buzzed something before zooming over to a patch of nearby flowers in bloom. "There's a flower shop up ahead. Might want to keep an eye out," Keith informed her, and she could hear him grinning. "Which is also why leafeon is here."

"Feon," the evolved eevee said proudly, strutting.

"Been here for a bit, then?" the Coordinator asked as a far-away clock rang its bells for nine in the morning. "That ya know somethin' up ahead."

"Got in on Friday, but all the shops are up here. And a market, too." They dodged around two girls running across the streets. "The breakfast in the Center is… Not great either."

"Huh?"

"Fish. Fish everywhere," Keith said, sounding very unhappy with that. "Jane doesn't like fish, and never has, so..."

"She roped ya into gettin' some other food, right?" Alice guessed, and the boy nodded. "Why're you gettin' it?"

A loud crash stopped the answer, and both of them looked at the source, which turned out to be a pane of glass that had fallen onto the ground while being carried. A nearby shop lacked a front window, too, making it easy to identify where it was supposed to have gone. "Two reasons," Keith said as they resumed walking, making sure to not get anywhere near the shards. "One, I… Oh, that's nasty..."

She could what stopped him. In front of them, as far left as they could go in the street, was a set of pinpricks of shattered glass, seen only because the morning sunlight hit them just right. They could probably walk through, but that'd just make things worse to clean up, and leafeon didn't have shoes.

But Alice had an idea. She released slowbro, and the Water-type greeted her lazily. "Can ya sweep the glass to one spot?"

He definitely could, and with a bit of concentrating and a very thorough sweep, he collected all of the nearby glass, dropping it off near the watching workmen. "Thanks a bunch!" the younger of the two said. "That'll save us some time."

"Yer welcome," Alice replied, smiling at them and rubbing slowbro's head gently. "Can't fix it for ya, though."

"If ya could, I'd be catchin' a Pokémon like that soon as," the other workman told her. "Might still. Been out of the game for years, though."

"Might ask my brother. He could know something."

The two workmen continued their discussion as Alice returned her Pokémon. "Useful trick."

She shrugged. "Did a Contest with snover and slowbro. Ice Shard doin's."

"Right, you're a Coordinator," Keith replied, and she guessed he'd forgotten that. "Second or third time?"

"Third. Hoenn, Kanto, Sinnoh," Alice said in turn, before taking a long sniff. "Speakin' o' fish."

There was a fish market going on; the smell bearable from a distance, but Keith led her someplace else, staying silent as he did that. Leafeon, on the other hand, was vocal in its disagreement, which only stopped when they entered a small mall of some kind that banned most Pokémon from going in. "Ugh. That nearly made me throw up."

"Thought Jane was the one not likin' fish?"

"And I don't like raw fish smell before breakfast," he countered, which caused her to giggle. "Though I've been eating less of it too."

"Why's that?" Alice asked as Keith led them to a shop that clearly sold breakfast.

"She's my girlfriend, and she doesn't like it when my breath smells of fish."

Girlfriend? Alice hadn't expected that. It sounded cute and like a fairytale, to travel and be in love with each other. "How long ya been like that?"

"Nearly a year and four months." Keith grabbed two rolled omelettes, before turning to her. "What do you and Linda want?"

She'd forgotten all about that, but a quick look around revealed a set of sandwiches for Linda. She grabbed an omelette for herself, but she saw Keith wonder about Linda's food. "Unovan. All the bread 'n stuff. Was interestin' bein' there for some time."

"Interesting how?"

The Coordinator laughed as they lined up for payment, but there was a queue. "Nothin' like Kalos, if that's what yer thinkin'. Jus' very different culture and stuff. And a lot of rebuildin' goin' on 'coz of Team Plasma."

"Must be a lot of that going on. Forgot how long Team Plasma was doing stuff, but it's more than Kalos had."

"But yveltal did a lot," Alice countered, and she saw Keith wince. "Oh, right, sorry."

"It's okay," he replied. "It's just been on our minds a bit. You couldn't know. We're normally okay with it."

Alice wasn't so sure about that. She might not understand her brother, but she did know that teenage boys liked to boast at every turn. Including about being fine or not. "Still. Bet yer glad Sinnoh is quieter."

"You're not wrong." They moved forward in the queue, and Alice got her wallet out of her pocket. "Worst that happened here? Couple of lost kids near Jublife. Standard school trip and some boys hiding or running or whatever." Keith sounded like he didn't really care for the why. "Houndour, mightyena, and crobat were able to find them pretty quick-like. The teacher was _pissed_ like you wouldn't believe it."

"Oh, I can," Alice said, remembering a time when one of her classmates had done the same. Their teacher had nearly brought the boy to tears when he'd appeared out of nowhere, half an hour after they'd been supposed to leave. "Mightyena and crobat yours?"

"Yeah. Not great against Steel-types, but I can bring them over if you want to meet them."

The reply she wanted to make was chased out of her mind by the checkout opening up.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Linda had gone for a nap after the four of them had returned from the Canalave Gym, but Alice was wide awake. She never liked naps because she could never keep them short, but her companion could. And normally, she'd take the time to draw some and maybe look at the cute scene a bit, but now… She had other things to do.

She hated that she was going to dump dung all over the mood that Keith and Jane had been in after getting their Badges. But she had the idea, halfway through the battles. Best to act on it before she chickened out.

She needed someone to help her to convince Max and Danny. Linda hadn't really agreed with that, saying she could do it on her own. And maybe that was right, but Alice still wanted the help anyway. Just in case, and all.

The door was open, and Jane was at the desk, bent over something, while Keith was folding some socks from the laundry he'd put in earlier. He looked up when she came in. "Hey Alice. Not going for a nap?"

"No," she said, closing the door behind her with a click that was louder than she meant. "I… I need some help." She took a deep breath. "Remember my brother?"

"Vaguely," Jane said, chair scraping the floor a bit. "Didn't he try to pull a fast one on you? Last year in… Saffron?"

Alice nodded slowly, looking for a place to sit. She found the second chair, and gratefully sat down. "Tha' was one of the last letters I sent ya, right?" she asked, not waiting for an answer. "He went home, but then he left again. Dunno know where or how, Mom and Da neither. And then..."

"He's not here in Sinnoh, right? Trying to get you home again?" Alice didn't answer, and Keith became visibly unsettled. "He didn't threaten you?"

She couldn't help the laugh that escaped her. As if Linda would let him, and she could probably help too. "Nah. Be easier too." The fifteen year old took a deep breath. "He's awaitin' trial right now."

A rolled-up pair of socks fell to the floor, bouncing and rolling a bit. Both other teenagers were stunned. Keith's mouth was wide open, and Jane half-covered her mouth with her hand. She recovered first. "Trial? What'd he do?"

Nothing for it. "Attacked 'n tried to kidnap Max 'n Danny."

Alice waited for the other two to recover. Keith was moving his mouth, but not saying anything, and Jane was looking upwards. Asking a deity for understanding, maybe.

The silence stretched for what felt like ages, and then both of them moved at the same time. They exchanged a long look. One that was clear enough: wordless communication about something.

Keith got the nod. "Just to be clear… He was in that attack in June?" he asked, and Alice confirmed it silently. "That's… You must've felt horrible when they told you."

"Yeah… And telling Mom and Da was worse. Better 'n lettin' 'em find out coz of p'lice, but..." She stopped, feeling her throat close up and hearing her accent slipping. "Sorry."

"Hard to talk about?" Jane asked, coming over and placing a tissue in Alice's lap. "Still your brother, isn't he?"

She didn't want to speak, but a nod was clear enough. Then Keith returned, and he placed a glass of water in her hands. "Drink."

The water was pure bliss as it went down her throat, and with it went the stuffy feeling there. She blinked a bit to get rid of the slight burning feeling behind her eyes, but she hadn't shed a tear. "Why'd ya get it so fast?"

"Got one of my own, and we're close too." Jane gave her a look. "None of your other friends have brothers, I'm guessing."

"Linda's got a younger sis..." Alice started, and the memory of Elise's happiness at seeing Linda again, when they'd been in Unova a year ago, was enough to make her smile. The beginning Trainer had come back from Alola for that. "And Max has a sis too."

"Sisters are different," Jane said, crossing her arms. "And Max isn't the right example. He's not wired that way."

She guessed not. Was it wrong of her to want to be wired like him, so she didn't have this?

"So, what's gonna happen to Paul now?" Keith asked after a few moments of silence. "Dunno the laws or anything, but attacking and trying to kidnap? That's not something simple."

"They're thinkin' 'bout tryin' him as an adult. Least, 'fore I convinced him."

"Of what?"

"Talkin'," she answered the question, looking the only boy in the room straight in the eyes. "Spillin' the beans, as the sayin 'goes." She sighed. "Dunno if it's enough."

"Why?" Jane asked. "He's cooperating, right? That's always a good thing for lower punishment."

"I know, Jane, I know. Doesn't feel like it is. Think I need ta convince Danny 'n Max too."

A hiss escaped from Keith's lips. "That's… Not easy."

She made to retort that she knew that, but Jane cleared her throat. "It's possible," she declared with certainty.

"Max isn't forgiving."

"Course he isn't. Be surprising as hell if he was, after all he's seen and done," Jane told her boyfriend. "But if anyone can convince him, it's Danny." She turned to Alice. "It's no sure thing, but convincing Danny is probably the way you get Max on board."

"'N how do ya suggest I do tha'? Without chokin' up like earlier."

"Write," Keith told her, shrugging when she looked. 'Simple, effective. Can think about what you want to say. Just send the letter to the Pallet Town Laboratory. It'll get there."

 **~~§~~§~~**

Not that Ash had anything against Pewter City, but Cerulean City did always feel better to him. Maybe it was just the air quality and all: Pewter was an old mining town with some mines still running just to the north.

Charizard landed on the square in front of the Gym, which caused more than a few people to gasp and mutter. The Frontier Brain tuned it out with practice, instead thanking the Fire-type for his help, promising a long rest in the Center later. He ignored a few girls calling for his attention, but the young boy that was doing his best magikarp impression got a grin. It had the desired effect, and Ash entered the Gym, pikachu following closely behind.

They found Misty mid-battle. He took immediate stock of what was going on from the passage. A staryu – Misty's own, he thought – was facing off against a jumpluff, and a quick look up revealed that the opponent had that and an already-used butterfree left, with a fearow having been knocked out, as had a wooper and a panpour.

The girl facing her looked like she was twelve or thirteen, and the Pokémon Misty was using made Ash think it was the younger. This smelled like a seventh or eighth Badge, with Misty throwing her opponent a curve ball by switching in an atypical Pokémon like her staryu, which was surprisingly strong, but lacked longevity if she didn't order it to use Recover.

The Grass-type didn't waste time trying to use powders, which would be useless, but instead went for a barrage of Bullet Seeds, weak Energy Balls, and Fairy Winds. Some clever tracking and good prediction made a few hits land, but a surprise Ice Beam caught jumpluff by surprise, knocking it into the water and out of the match five seconds and a Double Edge later.

The match eventually ended in a draw after two Double Edges met – and from that, Ash knew Misty had deliberately tied it up so that she could give her Badge out and stay within the guidelines. Staryu had been capable of avoiding the attack and countering with a Water Gun, he thought.

But if the girl was good enough for one of his best friends, then that was okay in Ash's book.

Didn't mean he wasn't going to call her out on it, and he asked her the moment the three of them were in one of the rooms adjacent to the main Gym.

"She was working well with what she had, and apart from that Ice Beam, she had a good idea of what my Pokémon could do and how to work with or around them," Misty answered as she pulled out a towel and two trays from a few places. Twenty-one pokéballs – seven battles – went on the trays, which she covered and put inside a large backpack. "Pretty good for a sixth badge. Think those were her three most powerful Pokémon, though."

"Seemed to be a bit of a Flying-type specialist," Ash said, and he saw pikachu perk up a bit at that. "Wonder why she didn't start in Johto and go to Falkner."

"Beats me," Misty replied, running a hand through her hair. "Hey, could you drop this off at the Center? I'll get a shower, and then we'll go have dinner in town. Someone opened a new Kalosian restaurant a month ago, and it's supposed to be good."

It was better than his idea of grabbing some fast food wherever, so Ash did as asked, delivering the backpack to the Nurse Joy on duty, handing over the twenty-two pokéballs and then returning to the Gym, only to meet Misty outside. "How'd the other battles go?"

"Five more badges and one arrogant berk. Seriously, why is it always the Unovans?" the Gym Leader half-asked. "Strolling into the Gym like he's victini's gift to mankind. Boy, you're fourteen, your voice hasn't finished cracking yet, and your Pokémon aren't up to snuff for a twelfth badge, let alone a fifteenth." She shook her head. "Not sure I'll see him again. His ego might not take it."

"Sounds like you had fun beating him."

"What gave it away?" Misty shot back instantly, smiling innocently and not fooling anyone for a second. "Downside of being a Gym Leader, instead of an invite only club. And I read that those two made it in, by the way. Gotta say, I wasn't expecting the showings they gave."

"Even after Kalos?"

"They had the element of surprise there, and probably a bit of reputation too," Misty countered as they struck a left. "Saving a region does that. But they didn't have that here, and they really showed how to work with what they had. And sure, having a Mega like that helps in preparation because your opponent has to keep it in the back of their head, but the tactics in the battles I saw were solid as anything." She gave him a grin. "How much did you help them?"

"Less than you think. Helped Danny's froslass master Thunderbolt, and had a start on teaching Fire Blast to Max's shelgon, but most of it was just sparring. At high level." He returned the grin. "Between you and me, I wouldn't be surprised if they threw in a Gym Challenge while they were passing through anyway. I'd bring the A-team if they drop by. And if you could record it..."

"Oh, I'm planning on it. I know some other Gym Leaders are also pretty curious about them." A small bell chimed, and they moved aside automatically, letting a father and two children cycle on through. The youngest swerved a bit, but training wheels helped. "And not just Sabrina because of Max's Psychic-types."

That surprised Ash. He'd expected Sabrina the instant Misty had mentioned other Gym Leaders, and Brock didn't count by definition, but he struggled to think which of the other ones would be impressed. "Matthew? In Viridian?" he guessed.

"Bingo. Swampert caught his eye, of course, and that baltoy of Max's is something too." She sounded a bit impressed as well, Ash thought. "Any idea how they're going to do this? Clockwise? Counter-clockwise? All over the place like you did?"

"I resemble that..." the Frontier Brain replied, only half kidding. "I asked them to come to me last, because, y'know… They're going to Anabel's first, and I'd guess they'll go to Noland after that."

"So probably Viridian, Pewter, Factory, here. If they're doing the Gym Challenge." Misty shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _ **New Capture Protocol**_

 _The Pallet Town Laboratory serves as the base for most Kanto Trainers. New captures will be sent here by definition, and numbers guarantee that there will be a steady influx every day. It is our duty to make sure that these are treated with care._

 _The system logs all data, but only in great emergencies, and after consultation with the Laboratory leadership, are you allowed to see most. That which is visible in the system without special permission, being Pokémon, gender, trainer ID, date of capture, and physical status, is enough for you to do your job. If the new capture is injured beyond standard parameters, bring it to the attention of the medical team as soon as possible._

 _It goes without saying that this data is sensitive information, and should not be shared with anyone that does not have sufficient clearance._


	33. Expanding The Repertoire

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 32: Expanding The Repertoire**

Deerling stayed low to the ground, trying to sneak around the main brawl that was taking place. Swampert and doublade were alternating heavy punches with light slashes on Mega aggron. Diggersby was nearby, shaking his head after a hard slam of a tail had knocked him away into a nearby tree, which had won that battle.

The goal was to get a piece of rope that they'd tied around the main horn, without using doublade's flight and while not using any attacks that worked from range. Max had taken the four Pokémon apart a bit, and had suggested that deerling was probably the one who would be best suited for the act.

So far, it hadn't really worked, but all the same, the Grass-type had been careful to not get hit by aggron's defending.

Swampert and diggersby had gone in hard from the word go. Hammer Arms were a Type nuisance, and few things didn't care about Danny's starter hitting them. Doublade had no real chance of dealing meaningful hurt, but scraping steel over steel was a nuisance.

To everyone, Max had soon realised, and he'd wished he knew where Danny kept his in-ears to at least stop his ears from hurting.

Diggersby rejoined the fight, staying low, aiming a Hammer Arm for aggron's left leg while swampert went for an Ice Punch to the stomach. The Steel-type ignored the Fighting-type move to prioritise swampert, and with a roar and a heave, the Water-type was thrown away several feet, landing upside while doublade zoomed around, going for the neck with one sword and being fast enough to avoid the swipe.

"How's he holding up?" Max asked Danny as deerling made an attempt, but the landing was only halfway up aggron's back, and from there, a swift turn slash tail swipe that made diggersby have to jump to not get swept aside unbalanced the small Pokémon enough that he had to jump off or fall off and risk being tossed away like a doll.

"Holding up okay," Danny said, voice level as it always was when aggron was in his Mega form. It was a bit strange to hear, even now, but it wasn't some kind of emotionless state. "Sceptile would make this harder, but it is good as is."

The goal for aggron was to fend everyone off for as long as he could. Initially, he'd tried to focus on swampert, but diggersby and deerling delivering a one-two punch-and-kick to the same leg had forced him to take everyone into account. It was good defensive practice at figuring out what he could let go with his resilience and what was something he needed to stop. "How long do you think he can keep this up?"

The other teenager closed his eyes, and Max recognised it as him searching the bond and trying to determine how much energy was left. "I can't detect anything specific, but the bond dampens problems until it's too late. Three more minutes should be fine."

A quick check of the watch revealed that would take this session to about fifteen minutes – he hadn't checked exactly when they started. That explained why diggersby had needed a bit to recover: the Ground-types had been going hard for most of that, and his endurance wasn't as good as swampert's. Doublade had avoided being hit, and deerling… Max took a closer look at his newest Pokémon, and he saw some signs of tiredness sneaking in, but nothing too bad. "Good idea, by the way."

"Thought of it last night. Get swampert and diggersby used to attacking in a team, and aggron defending."

"An eye on Double Battles again?" Max asked, grinning.

"Not just them," Danny said before wincing as diggersby was thrown away hard, crying out as he went. "Team Rocket's still active in Kanto. Someone might try to kidnap us again. I don't like it, but better safe than sorry."

That soured the mood a bit, until the training spar was over, and all Pokémon disengaged from fighting. Aggron went down from his Mega Evolution and immediately made his way over to diggersby, probably asking if everything was okay. Swampert took the time to start levelling the soil, and baltoy was sent out to help with that as deerling made his way over. "Getting on aggron's back was good, but you didn't think about the tail, did you?" Max asked as he sat down. The deer tried to climb into his lap, but settled for sitting down beside him. "Did you have fun?"

"Ling!"

Danny and Max both laughed at the enthusiastic-but-tired cry. "You know what could've worked even better?" the older teenager said as he sat down on deerling's other side. "If you'd used Double Kick while on aggron's back. Or even tried to use it before landing. That would've _really_ been a bad thing for aggron."

"Jump Kick..." Max went through the idea, but apart from the normal factors – Fighting-type moves were effective, but deerling was light and Mega aggron had steel hide that came off better against literal ships – he didn't immediately see why it would be a really bad thing. "What made it so bad?"

Danny reached over, and suddenly, several knuckles raked over Max's spine. "That's one reason, but more importantly, aggron only needed to defend his lower half. And mostly the front at that."

That was dismissing doublade entirely, but the Ghost hadn't really done a lot apart from being annoying. "Which made it easier for him to defend." It was all clear now, making him wonder how he hadn't seen it at first.

"You're used to thinking about one-on-one, where attacks to the back like that are very rare, and I know aggron better," Danny said, answering the unasked question. "You want to set something up with manectric, and only from range?"

"You've thought about that, haven't you?"

Danny grinned guilelessly. "Guilty. Only basics, but… I was thinking dodgeball. Create a circle that she can move in, have other Pokémon throw attacks and have her not get hit too much."

"We're not doing that here." Manectric cutting loose was bad for the local flora. Aggron was too, had he not been forced to stay in mostly one place. Even then, the tree that diggersby had been thrown into was missing a bit of bark, and the ground was very ploughed over. "But once we're in the plains to the east, sure." He turned to Danny, smiling. "This is why I keep you around."

"I thought that was for the cooking and ego deflating?"

"Hey, I haven't needed that last in a while now."

Danny gave him a pat on the head, and it felt patronising as all hell. "See? I've trained you well."

"Or maybe I'm growing up a bit. Mentally," he added quickly, feeling a rush of amusement when he clearly pre-empted his friend with that. "And besides, the loss did that well enough."

"It's happened. Best you can do is move on and learn from it. I hope your opponent did too, but I doubt it."

"More fool her," Max muttered, but he was pretty sure Danny had picked it up anyway. "Anyway, bit of a break now, then Shadow Ball tutoring later?"

"Good idea."

 **~~§~~§~~**

The stars were bright overhead as Max ended the call with the Oak Laboratory. It was now four days since sceptile's knee had been injured, and the assistant said that the recovery was coming along as expected. It was a pretty common kind of injury, so there was lots of data to work with, luckily.

The teenager was pretty glad that there were specialists who knew more about this. Injuries like that weren't something he'd seen all that much, and from being around Serena, he knew how delicate knees and joints could be. They weren't things he wanted to inexpertly try to take care of until there was no chance he'd foul up the healing process. Especially on his starter, who had been off his team of six for maybe two weeks total before this had happened.

And that was probably on the high end of guesses, too. He may have relied on manectric and gardevoir more as of late, but starters held a special place in everyone's heart.

As it was, though. Anabel was going to be too early for sceptile to return to battles. Noland should be fine, even if they headed straight there.

Max wasn't sure he wanted to do that, though. Paying a visit to Pallet sounded like fun, and then there was also the idea he'd been thinking about on-and-off for a bit about just doing a run through the eight Kanto Gyms. Ash hadn't wanted to back then, wanting to focus on the Battle Frontier. May had agreed, saying they needed time to get to all the Contests too.

But the two of them had no such qualms. The only one Max had, and that was just minor, was that he'd have to go up against Brock, which was going to be strange but doable. And it was nine and a bit months to the Indigo Conference after the next, which was plenty of time to get the eight badges if they didn't run into some Team Rocket plot or something.

He'd have to raise it with Danny, though. No time like the present. "Had an idea," Max said, causing the older teenager to look up from whatever he was doing. Probably some kind of thinking. "Just going around Kanto for the Battle Frontier sounds a bit… I don't know."

"Normal? Boring? Empty?" Danny finished, and Max inclined his head in agreement. They knew each other too well. "Y'know, I'd been assuming we were going to do that anyway. For like a week now? Consciously, that is." The scritch-scratch of soothing an itch was loud in the quiet night for a moment. "I was going to ask you about it after the Battle Tower, but I didn't think you were going to say no. Probably ever."

They _really_ knew each other too well, and it caused Max to smile in the darkness. "If we had people with us, maybe, but I like this with just the two of us." He shook his head. "Dunno how anyone could travel alone. It's just so much better this way."

"You remember I was gonna do that, right?" Danny asked, but there was no venom in it. "Things really seemed so simple back then. Leave, go have fun, blunder around like a zubat over water…"

"We were idiots back then, weren't we?" Max wasn't sure what he'd do if he came face to face with his younger self. Berate him for the idiocy, or feel pity for how simple he thought stuff was. "And yes, I was one too. Be glad you never saw me with Ash. _Especially_ when I'd just left with them."

"You were a few months shy of ten. At that point, you're expected to be sorta stupid." A sigh followed. "Okay, maybe it's a bit too heavy, but… I was thinking about this, kinda. After what happened earlier." Another sigh, and Max waited for his best friend to get to the point. "D'you think most kids leaving are ready to be a Trainer?"

He didn't find an answer to that immediately, but Danny waited patiently. "I'm not sure about this, but… There's probably a good amount who're not really?" he eventually guessed. "But you're allowed to make mistakes and to find out what things are like, right?"

"Sure. And most of them aren't that big either, so it's fine. But that kid..."

The boy they'd met that afternoon had gone to explore a nearby cave before Max and Danny had reached it. He'd also been unprepared for what was inside, and the zubat and golbat inside had taken offence at him. He hadn't been bitten and drained of his blood like horror stories tried to tell children, but judging by his looks and lack of coherency, the bats had done a number with Supersonic or Confuse Ray. The scrapes all over him had also supported that idea.

After consulting with a Nurse Joy, gardevoir had delivered him to a nearby Pokémon Center. "Yeah, not the sharpest one. But was it just him who's stupid, or..."

"Don't know," Danny admitted softly. "And… I don't think we're the right ones to figure that out either."

"Because of who we are and stuff," Max said in response. He was certain that was the reason, and a sound of agreement confirmed that. "Who would we ask, though?"

"Maybe Keith and Alice?"

The other boy had admitted that he'd been pretty stupid, sure. And Alice had also told them something like that. "Not Jane?" he wondered, curious about why Danny felt he'd exclude the doctors' daughter.

"Older brother. She got a couple of tricks from him, she's said before."

"Fair enough." And it was. It fit with how Brock cared for his siblings, too.

"Actually… Do you think Professor Oak might know more? About injuries on starting trainers with or without older siblings?"

Max made to answer, but a yawn overtook him first. Which was a bit early – it wasn't yet nine – but the heat had made sleep the night before pretty terrible. "Let's call tomorrow or something. I'm gonna brush my teeth and try to sleep." He turned towards his pack, finding the toiletries where he expected them. "Who's on guard again?"

"Litwick, then magneton."

 **~~§~~§~~**

The historical status of Rota as an ancient kingdom now loosely incorporated into Kanto meant that no matter the time of year, there were always tourists present. Summer break's impending end in under two weeks meant that it was busier than most other times, excepting the yearly tournament in January.

It was the perfect location to meet up even if their target had been somewhere else in Kanto. As it was, nobody batted an eye at a group of three men heading into the same hotel room, because if you wanted some peace and quiet, such locales were the only ones that were available before all the children were asleep.

Raphael offered the other two a drink, before unfolding an annotated map of the area around the Tree of Beginning on the table. He'd marked it with the observations that he and some scouts had made. "Our target, gentlemen. The Tree of Beginning has several entrances, and an unknown amount of branching paths inside. Our number is not enough that we can enter all and expect to emerge victorious."

"Three groups, and you to coordinate," a gruff man looking in his forties said. He was wearing sunglasses indoors still, and the former intelligence officer knew that those hid one blind eye. "And why aren't there four of us here?"

The answer to that was tied up in the weather, as a squall had caused a landslide south of Rota, forcing travellers from Pewter to move around or risk being buried under rocks. "It matters not," Raphael finished. "Given recent developments, we're postponing the mission a few days to better align with other events."

"Drake's burial," said the third of their group, nasally. He was clearly the youngest present. "Resources lost."

"Precisely. Two of them, and one other Elite Four member will also be absent from the Indigo Plateau for part of next week. The Dark-type Master has a sister – a politician of some stature in Johto – who is to marry on Monday. The Psychic-type Master will attend a symposium in Sinnoh, and will go there straight from Drake's funeral." He looked the two others in the eyes. "Additionally, First Minister Santi, Stephen Stone, and Lance are to meet Tuesday afternoon, keeping _him_ away."

Left unsaid was that this was both set up and a boon to their operation. Rota was within fifteen minutes of average flight for a dragonite, and the Kanto-Johto Grand Champion was nothing average. "Leaves two. Bruno and Koga. We cannot take both."

"Only one will come. It makes no tactical sense for both to come, leaving Indigo Plateau and its importance unguarded."

"Quite," Raphael agreed with the succinct analysis. "And one, we can take. We will also have a head start, and even if he finds one our groups, two more can press on, provided we are split far enough. Plus," he added, grinning nastily, "there's a surprise for any Pokémon Teleporting in, should the Psychic Master have left easy transportation behind. A machine that will generate a field of intense mental pain for any Psychic-type Pokémon in the area. It will cripple them to the point of uselessness, and that will cause pause." He looked around. "I'll set that off after we enter. On full burn, it is good for about seventy-five minutes, after which a fail-safe self-destruct will activate."

"Crippling the target as well. Efficient."

"I thought so. However, the Tree has given visible distress signals in emergencies in the past." The details of which were pretty sparse, even with the network that he and Santi had at their disposal. None of the identified participants were also likely to aid them. Kidd Summers was their best bet, and she had been in Orre for the recent past. The others were a Frontier Brain, a Gym Leader, the most recent third place finisher in Kanto, and his sister, a Coordinator in Hoenn. None of their psych reports suggested that they'd help. "Given mew's known powers of shape-shifting and flight, this is considered acceptable."

"It might turn into a joltik and we'd never find it before it made its way out of the Tree. Unfortunate, but an acceptable risk."

"Quite. Now, these are the entrances as identified." A pen tapped one of them on the east side, with a blue cross above it. "This is the 'main' entrance, and likely where any opposition will come from." He moved clockwise. "This one looks nearby, but sheer sharp cliffs separate the two. It is hard to reach. I will take this entrance, and place the disruptor here. This leaves five entrances."

"Logically, we enter here, here, here," their youngest member said, tapping at entrances north, north-west, and south. "Covers most ground. Different heights as well."

Indeed, the southern entrance was far above the others, even above Raphael's own entrance. "I'll take south, then. Can make use of my partner's steelix to climb any cliffs."

"Target is located higher up?" was the question. This was probable, and Raphael nodded. "Take north. Latecomers don't get to choose."

He could live with that, and he handed two clean copies of the map to the others, who took a moment to mark their respective entrances. "Rest up, gentlemen. In five days, we raid the Tree of Beginning."

 **~~§~~§~~**

Danny wasn't sure what time it was. Or why he was awake suddenly. That only lasted for a second, when his left arm started protesting.

He'd turned around and put the arm underneath his torso. That meant not enough blood was coming in, and that meant pins and needles. Which was a stupid way to wake up. And effective.

Sighing, he extracted himself from his light sleeping bag, not really caring he was standing there in just his boxers. Nobody was near anyway, and this being Johto in August… It was warm alright. The sleeping bag was more so he wasn't lying on the ground directly.

Looking up revealed that it was probably not too long after midnight. The moon was still rising in the sky, and just about past full. The light filtered through the sparse tree canopy above them, making the area look pretty calm and nice.

Max hadn't even bothered covering himself up, instead using his sleeping bag as a blanket to lie on. Despite that, his foot was nearly off it anyway, thanks to being splayed out all over the place. He was breathing the calm breaths of the fast asleep, and near him, houndour kept watch, not exactly hidden in the moonlight.

She rose to her feet after seeing her Trainer look at her, but the Dark-type didn't lean into the quick scratch Danny gave too much. Instead, she pushed against his legs, wanting him to turn around, away from Max, and towards…

A barely visible – in the darkness – flash? Of some dark colour? That looked familiar from earlier alright. "Why?" Danny wondered softly, only for his Pokémon to push him forward with her body. "I know who's there."

It wasn't long until he saw the source. Maybe thirty feet, and then gardevoir came into vision, hidden from sight before that by an old and large tree. The Psychic-type sat in the roots of another one, doing something with the Shadow Balls he had started learning that week, when he wasn't being pressed into being a Psychic-type opponent. What it was, Danny still didn't know, but it caused the orb to fall apart and flash out of existence.

" _I did not wake you up, did I?"_

Max's Pokémon stayed put, and Danny moved closer, sitting down a few feet away. "No," he said softly. "Slept on my arm. What're _you_ doing up?"

The gardevoir looked at him, and Danny looked back. There was no sensation of any mind reading going on, but the feeling that the Pokémon was studying him for some reason remained. _"I felt I needed some practice,"_ was gently said in his head.

"There's a thing like too much practice," the teenager retorted, and he was rewarded with a flash of surprise. What that said, he didn't know for sure. Either trust or tiredness: reining in flashes of emotions had been one of the first things that gardevoir had worked on back in December and January. Generally, they only occurred when the Pokémon wanted them to. "You can't not know Max doesn't blame you."

" _And you, who has said we deserve each other, think that argument works?"_ the Psychic-type said, infusing the message with amusement.

"You think I care?" Danny shot back, before shaking his head and forcing himself to sober up. "Look. We've done the intellectual argument, and it's too late for that. But being frustrated only hurts you.."

" _Frustrated?"_

"You don't practice in secret without a reason," Danny said quickly, but softly. "But there's also a reason why we don't just train all day if we're not travelling."

" _Such as?"_

"Overtraining, like I said earlier. Tiring, too. And when you're tired, you make mistakes."

" _Not everyone is tired by the end of training,"_ gardevoir said neutrally.

Danny thought about it for a second, before shrugging. "Sure. You're not, sceptile's not, dusclops is not. It's also the middle of the night, and I know you put in a lot earlier as well. Before dinner, when Max was getting wood for the fire." He locked eyes on purpose. "And I bet you've been at this since both of us fell asleep. Houndour help you?"

He saw that his guess was correct. _"Yes. As did your litwick two nights before now."_ That was a surprise, and the Psychic-type's lips edged up in a satisfied smirk. One that mirrored Max's. _"Granted, it was only tonight that I had any success with my extra training."_

"Show me?"

In response, a bit of energy formed above gardevoir's left hand, but it was unformed and raw. He brought the hand above himself, where it met the right hand, and the energy leapt over in part.

Then he brought both of them down, carefully, close to himself so that the Ghost-type energy wouldn't come near Danny, and manipulated them into small orbs with seeming ease.

The Trainer reached out towards one of them, holding a finger near enough that he could feel the energy flicker and try to creep into the digit. It wasn't strong, but in the darkness, it looked solid enough at least. "That's a start, but… I think you've created bigger?"

" _Correct, though I used more raw energy to create these two,"_ gardevoir replied as he psionically nudged Danny's hand away, and the attacks went skywards a moment later, fizzling out as they went. _"Unfortunately, I have yet to succeed in splitting one larger already formed Shadow Ball into two smaller. That is what you saw."_

"That can come later." Danny held up a hand to stop any replies. "Same thing as with Echoed Voice. Start with the foundation, then expand and improve." The arm went down again. "You think you can teach dusclops and froslass to do that dividing trick? Might be useful."

" _Of course. Tomorrow?"_

"After Anabel. No sense in starting something new now."A yawn bubbled up, and he made no effort to suppress it. "Let's go back to bed. Talk in the morning, use Max's brain too."

 **~~§~~§~~**

"So Max," Danny asked after they'd polished off a light lunch in the shadow of the largest tree nearby. They were planning to reach the Pokémon Center near the Battle Tower that night, but had paused to let the worst of the day's heat pass. "You and Ash said there were no Full Battles in the Battle Frontier, but… What are all the formats anyway?"

Max stretched his arms lazily before answering. "Half the fun is finding out, right?"

"That would've held more water if you hadn't told me what Anabel did. Or alluded to the rest back in Silver Town," Danny countered, but his friend took it in stride. "I think you said Ash's predecessor did three on threes..."

"Ash'll probably stick with that. He likes them." Max shrugged, stretching again afterwards. "You want me to tell you general stuff about the othe… Okay, fine," he amended when Danny gave him a meaningful look. "First one's the Battle Factory, not too far from Cerulean and Mt. Moon. That's the one with the articuno."

Now he remembered. "That Ash chose to fight willingly with his charizard," Danny stated. He'd heard that before, but even two years after that, it was still confusing. "Count me out for that."

"Yeah, your team's not good against it. But you choose your opponents there, so… Pick something that you think will give you a good fight. Noland has a ton of Pokémon. And a cool biplane." Which Max had flown in, he'd said so before. "Greta's next, between Cerulean and Saffron. She's got the random wheel, and uses a lot of physical Pokémon, and a small arena. _That's_ more your thing."

Aggron, swampert, drapion, even dusclops… "Yup. And not so much yours."

"I'm planning to not play by Greta's rules on that one, no," the blue-haired teenager said deadpan. "Though she's probably got a tyranitar hidden somewhere too, so… That might be a problem."

"You'll find a way."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence. The next one is Tucker, not far from Lavender. This one's really one for you. Double Battle. In front of a huge audience, but, y'know, don't think that's a factor for us." Both of them let loose a short chuckle. "Ash had trouble with him for a bit. The teamwork is great, and Ash…"

"You two prefer the one on one."

"Yeah," Max said as deerling trotted up and laid down next to him. One hand went out to stroke the deer's back. "Lucy's near Fuchsia, and almost normal. Just likes serpentine Pokémon a lot, but it's probably the one of the first six that's most like the regular League. Except she did a two on two."

"Isn't Anabel the same?" Danny asked. "We usually can't hear what the other Trainer's saying anyway, so her trick doesn't change too much."

"True, but she understands Pokémon better than anyone I'd ever seen. Including wild Pokémon. She calmed down an angry gyarados. With words and her empathy."

That caused Danny to sit up. "Is she crazy?" he blurted out, before he could think about it. "That's..."

"Crazy," Max said deadpan. "Gotta agree. But she did it without even flinching, Ash said. And that only makes her better at battling." A grin appeared on his face. "It's going to be great."

Ever eager for a good battle. Not that Danny didn't like the challenges, but not to this level. "And that she's a Psychic-type specialist doesn't hurt either, I suppose," he told Max as he thought of something. "I bet you could learn how to do that too. At least with your own Pokémon."

"Oh? That's an interesting claim," said a new voice, and both teenagers scrambled to look at the source. It was someone leaning against a nearby tree, arms folded. Danny _thought_ it was a woman, but he wasn't going to bet money on that with the androgynous look. She had hair basically framing her face, lilac or light purple or something, and she was wearing comfortable clothing in white and grey. "I'd say it's been a while since I saw you, but that'd be a lie, Max. Good showing in Silver Town."

"Anabel!" Max exclaimed, getting up. Danny followed suit, surprised. This was their opponent? "I didn't lead us to your house by accident, right?"

The Frontier Brain laughed at that. "No. I'm just out for a walk on this nice Sunday. The Tower's about three miles that way," she said, pointing vaguely south-east. "You're not the first one to say that I'm crazy, by the way, Danny."

His face burned like he'd been too close to houndour's Flamethrower. "I.. Err..."

Anabel laughed, which only made the blush worse. "It's okay. Communicating like I do is a rare thing, and I'd expect someone with your family to know very well how dangerous gyarados can be." She started walking towards them, revealing that she was actually shorter than he was, though taller than Max. The slight slope had hidden that. "So why do you say that about Max?"

"Some weird stuff happened and now I'm able to sense a few kinds of Pokémon when they're nearby." It was the most blasé summary Danny had ever heard, but he couldn't deny the accuracy. "It's kinda strange, but my life hasn't been normal for years."

"So I've heard." That seemed to surprise Max. "Ash stopped by on the way to Silver Town, and we got to talking about why he was heading up that early. Helped him catch an abra, too, while he was here." She studied them for a moment, lips tilting upwards. "I can probably help you find one too, if you're interested. Every Psychic-type specialist should have one."

"How long _were_ you there listening to us?" Danny wondered, and a bit of annoyance at himself crept into his heart. They'd had people attack them two months ago.

"First thing I heard after talking with your deerling was you discussing Greta. And yes, she does have a tyranitar. Recent addition to her team, I'm told." It didn't seem like Anabel cared too much for that. Which fit, in Danny's opinion. "I'll leave you to your day now, but I have one last question. Shall we have lunch in the Tower tomorrow, before you challenge me?"

"Sure, but why?" Max agreed, asking the question that was on Danny's lips as well. "You're not trying to butter us up, right?"

A gentle smile. "I have my reasons. If you're smart, you could figure it out."

That was, Danny knew for sure, a challenge that would keep his friend busy for most of the day. And judging by the look on her face, Anabel knew as well. Which was impressive for all sorts of reasons. However, the challenge probably paled in comparison to the one they'd have in about twenty-four hours.

They were about to start the Battle Frontier. And it was going to be a test of their skills like nothing they'd ever faced before.

It was going to be _fun._

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _Pokédex entry:_ _zubat_

 _Characteristics:_ _bat-like_ _,_ _ultrasonic_ _,_ _Poison-Flying_ _-type. Avg. height:_ _2_ _'_ _07_ _'',_ _Wingspan: 3ft,_ _Avg. weight: 1_ _7_ _lbs._

 _Detailed information:_ _One of the most common and somewhat overlooked Pokémon, one zubat is rarely a problem for even a beginning Trainer. However, zubat are rarely alone, living together in groups that can also include golbat. Caution should be exercised when entering caves with known hostile groups of these Pokémon, as the walls of the cave will augment the strength of any Supersonic attack they use until Trainers won't know which way is up and which way is out. Has a bad reputation amongst both travellers and those working inside such enclosed spaces for that reason._


	34. Power Of Teamwork

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 33: Power Of Teamwork**

The tropius landed with a slightly tired thud, causing a flock of nearby spearow to fly up. Gary kept an eye on them until it became clear they'd only been startled and weren't going to attack. That was good: he'd already had to fight off a pack of mightyena that morning before his flight. It was good exercise for blastoise, but a second round in one day was stupid. And trivial, but that was besides the point.

It had been a fruitful trip. Get to Hoenn early Monday, locate the girl that had caught a ralts on Tuesday, locate the congregation on Thursday, and then spend most of Friday talking to refreshingly knowledgeable Pokémon, coming away with what he had sought after some pointed questioning. That had been pretty much as expected from everything he'd heard – girl included. He'd taken Saturday off because there was a tournament not five miles from where he'd put up camp the night before – a win, naturally – and now he was back in Littleroot, at the lab. The overnight boat would leave in two hours.

But first, he had research to follow up on.

Ten minutes later, he finished reading the write-up that Birch had made. "Certainly casts a new light on trapinch. And perhaps other Pokémon too, like dugtrio." He put the sheets of paper down, locking eyes with the waiting Professor, who was sitting on the sofa in his den. "Do you have an explanation for the discrepancy between common conceptions and your postulation about Earth Power?"

"Just guesswork. The easiest and, in my opinion, most plausible, explanation would be that they can use it, but are generally very limited in its reach," Birch replied. "I asked the researchers on site, and they think there's evidence for small patches being manipulated at a time. There's a pair of geologists coming next week, I think." The jovial Professor stood up, stretching. "And as you said, it could lead to understanding about dugtrio and how they do not cause earthquakes and sinkholes with regularity."

Gary rose as well. "That would certainly catch the eye of the Vermilion politicians," he said, and the two shared a disbelieving grin. The cave network underneath the city was extensive, and questions about its stability rose up every few years, as it had a few weeks ago. "I look forward to seeing the finished article in any case."

"There is… One more thing," Birch said, interrupting Gary's move towards the door. "I found something there." A box appeared in the Professor's hands by some sleight of hand. Probably it had been hidden inside the man's loose white coat. "I have kept this safe, but its place is not here in Hoenn." He held it out, and Gary took it. "Open it elsewhere."

"Alright."

Nothing more was said as Gary exited the building, using tropius one last time to traverse the distance between the laboratory and the harbour. The time until boarding was spent on calling Gramps – who dropped a press conference Gary was supposed to be a part of on him between asking how everything had worked out – and eating some food. Only when he'd safely made it to his private cabin on the boat did he take the box out of his pack again.

It was light, but with a certain heaviness to its centre that gave him an idea of what it could be, and opening it revealed that he'd been right on the assumption that it had been a Mega Stone.

And one that he recognised without too much of an issue. It was one of the more well-known ones after all, if you followed the international scene a bit. It was also one that was fairly certain to annoy at least some Hoenn politicians should anyone use it where they could see it.

And ironically, it was one he _nearly_ could use himself. If it hadn't been for agreeing with the ralts, through an intermediary, that the Psychic-type was going to become a gallade eventually because of research.

He could think of four or five Trainers who'd get good use out of this without even dipping deep. A moment's thought added at least a dozen names to that, though some would refuse for a variety of reasons.

The first offer was going to have to be Sabrina, though, as the Psychic-type Gym Leader.

 **~~§~~§~~**

The day dawned orange, bright and warm from before the first glimpses of daylight. Lance, Grand Champion, saw the sea reflect the morning light from the balcony of his hotel room, where he'd gone to after waking up early, and not by choice.

It was a day he had dreaded for a while, but one that he had known would come, inexorably. It was life's way, if nothing else. The manner, however, had left a sour taste that too many people experienced every year.

Drake had known for longer than he'd told anyone while still alive. Late December, it was written in one of the Captain's Logs that he'd arranged to be handed to various people. Individualised writing, from the looks of it too. And that writing had revealed that the Dragon Master had made a choice to not seek the maximum possible extension to his life.

Lance was conflicted over that. It was an attitude he did not understand. Life was worth living, as long as possible, in his opinion, and to let the cancer through relatively unfettered was not a choice he would make.

But Drake had anticipated this, writing that an extra six or nine months – the average case as told to him by the medical team – of life was not worth the pain and agony of going through treatment. There was no cure for this type of cancer. It was too widespread; too well entrenched. Was it any question then, the septuagenarian had written, that he chose the path of dignity?

The argument was persuasive, but it warred with his own views. And despite the uncomfortable feelings that came from having those views challenged, Lance had been somewhat amused, in a nostalgic way.

It had taken him back to when he was sixteen, fresh off of winning his first League. Drake, as had been his habit over the course of his long career as a member of the Elite Four, had extended an offer to train with him. Lance, being eager to train under a Dragon Master beyond the skill of anyone in the Blackthorn Clan, had accepted, but it had soon become obvious that the two had personalities that were prone to rubbing against each other. Drake, then as later in life, was a firm proponent of making one's own fate. His own teenage self had been just a bit full of himself and the superiority of Dragons.

In true Drake fashion, the older man had taken the tauros by the horns, but after calmly setting out how their opinions differed, he had simply told Lance that they would go train now. After a question about why, he had replied with words that echoed in memory clear as the day they were spoken.

" _Potential, Lance. You can stand amongst legends; a future member of any pantheon of Grand Champions they will make in ages to come. My responsibility is to provide you with as much training as possible to reach those heights, regardless of what you think or feel differently than I do."_

And that measured response; of appealing to innate strength and potential, and to a chosen duty, had cut right through the late-adolescent opinion that he knew better, in a way that resonated to this very day.

As time had passed, the student surpassed the teacher, and some measure of drifting apart occurred, but whenever he was in Hoenn, Lance had sought to always spend time with the other Dragon Master. It was not always possible or, in some cases, plausible, but the thought of there being none more was not a welcome one.

It was an unavoidable one, however. And as his alarm went off behind him, Lance rose. "May giratina and darkrai grant you passage to your just reward," he muttered into the sound of waves washing ashore.

 **~~§~~§~~**

"So, Anabel," Max asked after the two of them had sat down at the table, with some heavily-seasoned food waiting to be eaten. "How busy _are_ you usually anyway? Not a lot of invites to the Frontier."

"That's a good question," the Frontier Brain replied, smiling. "I think I had about twenty-five battles in the last year, so that's two every month. Of course, some of them are repeats that are closer together, and some times of year are slower." She sounded okay with that.

"Doesn't that get a bit boring?" Danny asked from behind Max, standing up straight as he spoke by the sound of it. Vulpix, helioptile, and Anabel's natu were also in the room, and Danny had drawn the short straw on filling the food bowls. "What do you do with the rest of your time?"

"Training to stay in shape, reading, walking, practising my cooking… It's easier than you think," she replied easily. "And with alakazam, I can go anywhere I want. Even part of the Orange Islands, if I want to."

Max made the distance calculation in his head, finding that she probably could move all over Kanto and Johto with that kind of reach. Maybe not Cianwood, depending on a few things, but the rest was fair game. "My Pokémon aren't nearly as good at it."

"How good _are_ they, then?" Anabel said as she signalled that lunch was started.

There was a delay in answering as everyone got some food for themselves. Max started with a spicy-smelling soup, and Danny went for some tempura and sushi. Anabel had grabbed some noodles. "Haven't tested recently, but I know xatu brought us here and back to Silver Town. He didn't seem sure he could take a third trip immediately, though."

"And gardevoir is a bit better at it," Danny added, pouring himself some water before digging in. He also gave Max some after the spicy soup had exploded in flavour and heat. "Or, he can go a bit further. It feels a bit rougher at long distances, though."

"Never noticed that," Max replied after taking a sip of water. He put the soup to the side for the moment, going for some curry rice instead. It was probably as flavourful, but less likely to burn his mouth. "What time you talking about?"

"Some time early May. Asked him to take me as far as he comfortably could and return me, ended up in Goldenrod from the forest north of Ecruteak."

No further explanation came as Danny went for his food, but the calculation was easy enough anyway. That return trip was close to 200 miles, and after the trip to Tohjo Falls and back, Max had sat down with a copy of the power charts. He'd come out with the assumption that xatu could Teleport _him_ about180 or 190 miles. Danny was heavier, and gardevoir had gotten a bit better at it since May. "If you say so. I'll do some testing tomorrow. Don't think I'd be able to get to Olivine with just one Pokémon, though."

"And ignoring that you've never been there," Danny pointed out.

"Small detail," Max retorted, but he smiled as he scooped some of his not-quite-as-spicy rice out of the bowl.

There was some relative silence as the three of them ate, but before long, Anabel spoke up again. "One thing I was wondering about," she started, and Max instantly wondered if she was going to touch on Team Flare. "How different is Kalos from Johto? Everyone who's been there has been positive, but their perspective is not the same."

Max tried to convey with his eyes that Danny should take the lead on this. And after two and a half years of travelling together, they had the non-verbal communication down decently. "Compared to Johto… Kalos is busier. More vibrant in the cities, and a different kind of quiet in the towns." He paused to take a bite. "Johto's… Simpler? Down to earth? C'mon Max, help me out."

"Rustic?" was apparently the right guess. Or right enough. "And yeah. Even in the smaller towns and villages, there was always something to do or watch. And it's not just that we were going for the Showcases."

"Hmhm," Danny agreed. "Some towns here… It's like time stood still for years and years. And even the cities aren't as busy."

"That sounds like the Johto I know," Anabel commented fondly. "Quiet and traditional. Maybe too much so, even." She turned to Max. "You miss it a bit, don't you? It's written all over you."

Thank jirachi she hadn't said that while he had something in his mouth. "It's… I don't know. I just liked it more than Hoenn. Made good friends. Saw and experienced amazing stuff. And yeah, some of it was terrifying," he said, choosing to mention the subject himself. "I had some of the best and worst of times there."

There was a raised eyebrow, but Anabel didn't ask about the reason she was surprised. Instead, she smiled at him. "And your experiences have made you grow. Both of you, probably. It's actually a bit confusing at some level."

"Why's that?"

"I remember you at… Must be eleven, right?" she asked, and Max nodded, unsure where this was going. "And you're very different, but you still look a lot the same. This and this don't agree with each other," she added, pointing at her eyes and forehead in turn. "Maybe it's stranger because I talked to my nephew this morning, and he..."

"Looked different as night and day," Danny finished for her. He would be a bit more familiar with that. "Growing up is strange."

"Kind of makes you wish humans evolved too at times, huh. Alakazam had trouble connecting me to old pictures, about when I was your age," Anabel said fondly. "Maybe that was because it was so soon after she had turned into a kadabra herself, and I did look very different."

There was more there, Max felt, but it was rude to ask that and it wasn't important anyway. It did mean that the conversation stopped, replaced with finishing up lunch, which took about ten more minutes of delicious flavours. It would've been more, but eating too much was not a good idea for anyone ahead of a battle; Pokémon or Trainer, so he stuck with reasonable portions, as did Danny.

"Before we have our battle, I should tell you that it's not going to be what you expected, Max," the Frontier Brain teased as she got up, catching the attention of both boys. "I normally still do the three on three, but seeing the two of you yesterday gave me an idea. A Double Battle, four on four total, using _any_ four Pokémon from both your teams." She gave them a moment to absorb that. "I'll see you in ten minutes in the arena." With that, she left through the other door in the room, natu on her shoulder.

Max immediately turned to Danny. "Wasn't expecting that. You got any ideas?" he asked, knowing full-well that his friend was far better in Double Battles. Better at splitting attention was the best guess they had, last time they had actually thought about it.

"I think," the older teenager said after a short silence, "that we shouldn't go for the most powerful Pokémon, but for the ones that work together well. Her communicating with Pokémon means she's got a leg up, so we have to work together."

"Synergistic Pokémon, got it," Max said, ignoring the look he got. "And because she uses Psychic-types, we need to make sure our Pokémon can't really hurt each other with energy, or they'll just redirect it." Vulpix padded up to them, and he absently knelt to give her a scratch. "Which of our Pokémon work like that?"

"You've got one right there. And houndour," Danny replied. "And Flash Fire is pretty indiscriminate in how it's activated, so one of them can get up close while the other fires away. Literally. And it's not like houndour cares about being hit by Hex or something either."

"That's the start, then?" Max asked as he returned vulpix, and he got a nod as he heard helioptile vanish as well. "You don't have a lot of other Pokémon that are good against Fire apart from swampert. Who is..."

"Not even here," Danny finished. "But Anabel said _any_ four Pokémon from _both_ our teams."

He'd heard it before, but now was when it fully hit Max. "I could send out one of my Pokémon even if houndour is the first to fall." Jirachi, that was _clever._ And really tricky as a format. And…. "I guess she's assuming we know each other's Pokémon pretty well."

"Not that hard to do," was the dry retort.

"True," he conceded, thinking for a moment. "I think xatu works best as third for us."

"Can redirect fire himself," Danny caught on quickly. "And Synchronoise. And I guess we'll see for fourth. That'll depend on what Anabel's throwing at us." He cracked his fingers, one hand at a time. "You ready to fight together?"

"Always."

 **~~§~~§~~**

The Battle Frontier might have been different from the Gyms, but the arena itself was just the same. It reminded Danny a bit of the Lumiose Gym, in fact: it had same kind of lighting and layout. Maybe a hint of the Battle Chateau too in the walls, but that was stretching it. An alakazam was waiting on the sidelines, making him wonder if it was the same one as the Salon Maiden – which sounded really pompous, Danny thought – had spoken of earlier. It – she, if it was the same one – was probably there to protect the Trainers.

Anabel was waiting on the other end, as was a man with dark green hair, standing opposite the alakazam. That was the referee, and after a brief summary of the rules, which had one huge difference from normal in that there was no break for switching out, four Pokémon took to the field. Black, red-brown, lilac, and light green. Danny quickly checked the Pokédex for the last one: he'd fought what had to be its pre-evolved form before, but he'd never encountered this one.

 _Reuniclus, the Multiplying Pokémon. These Pokémon use their Psychic powers to control their liquid arms. They can crush boulders with their psionic strength._

Run-of-the-mill Psychic-type then.

"Espeon knows Zap Cannon, reuniclus is new. I think they're pretty immobile generally.'

Danny nodded, focusing on the battle. The moment it started, three attacks went out: two Flamethrowers and a Psyshock from the Unovan Pokémon. It cancelled out houndour's jet of flame, while vulpix's didn't have any effect: espeon had moved, looking to close the distance on vulpix. "Houndour, reuniclus."

A flash of Confuse Ray forced the espeon back, giving vulpix some time to send out a flurry of Embers, while houndour did the same while loping in the general direction of the stationary floating Pokémon on the other side. A solid wall of light blocked that attack, and from the corner of his eyes, he saw that espeon had dodged vulpix's attack before retaliating with a Psybeam that did nothing but smash into the floor. The Flamethrower that Max's Pokémon sent out in return went skywards too.

But it was reuniclus who did that, as espeon shot a Zap Cannon across the room as a warning shot. Houndour saw it coming and jinked left, making it crash into the shield without any of the opponents being able to adjust it. That did force the Dark-type away from reuniclus, and Danny saw it take aim at vulpix as she was pressured by a pair of Psybeams. "Foul Play."

The Psychic – he thought – connected for a second or so before the canine bit down on the goop-like substance that surrounded reuniclus's body, and the green Pokémon went up and over houndour, eating Flamethrower as it landed.

Vulpix had been freed by the interruption, but she was having problems with espeon barraging her with a variety of Psybeams and, as he watched, a Zap Cannon. At a barked order, houndour shot Embers across the room, which hit as the Psychic-type chose to try and get a Psybeam to connect, but a Hex blocked it just in time. "Stick together now." He half-turned to Max, and the shorter teenager caught it. "Vulpix on offence, houndour as canine shield. Did she hit espeon?"

"Snucktwo Hexes through, got hit twice with Psybeam," Max replied as the two Pokémon unleashed a storm of Embers, aiming for espeon. The lilac Pokémon avoided most of them, and a quick Iron Tail swatted a couple that would've hurt her tail away with overwhelming force. "Set the room on fire!"

Smoking them out or forcing them to expend a lot of energy. Sounded good to Danny, and to the two Fire-types, who turned up the heat hard with twin Flamethrowers, converging on espeon, who was pretty far to the side and didn't have a lot of room to dodge it.

So it didn't. The Psychic-types went for redirection, with espeon having to do the pyroar's share of the task, and while it was concentrating, vulpix sneaked a Hex in. It didn't cause the defence to falter, thanks to reuniclus stepping it up, but it was a good cheap shot.

One that got vulpix pelted with Zap Cannon and Psyshock moments later, but the former missed, and only one of the five crystals actually connected with Max's Pokémon. The other four were snapped out of the air by an uncaring houndour.

Espeon hurried in close, going for a Quick Attack and slipping between Danny's and Max's Pokémon while reuniclus went for a long-range Psychic, and vulpix was forced to blast out a Confuse Ray. It missed espeon, and houndour shook it off, but in that time, an Iron Tail had connected, sending the fox skidding backwards. A Quick Attack of her own disjointed the second attempt at an attack, as well as the Psychic.

Houndour unleashed hell on espeon from close range, and the flames licked the Psychic-type for a good half-second before a furious pulse of energy blew all of them away. Then vulpix punched through with a nasty Hex, while houndour intercepted the Psyshock from long-range.

Espeon slunk off, and their Pokémon fired Flamethrowers after both opponents – houndour going for reuniclus, which Danny approved.

Apart from the Foul Play, it hadn't really been hit so far, and this'd keep it on its toes.

The surprise came when both of Anabel's Pokémon instantly turned around – dodging the Flamethrower in espeon's case and not caring in reuniclus's – and unleashing a joint Psychic that went straight for vulpix.

The fox yelped in pain for a long moment before houndour could tackle it out of the attack with more than a bit of difficulty. That didn't help vulpix any, and another double attack soon converged on her position.

And the Dark-type stood her ground, forcing out a Flamethrower that, while aimed at espeon, served to delay both of them.

Flames curved in on themselves, but houndour did not yield. She pushed more and more, further and further, and the rebounded attack seemed to even trigger her own Flash Fire to some degree, as the fire grew visibly hotter and hotter and…

Darker.

Vulpix had gotten to her feet, adding flames of her own, but Danny only registered that partially. The rest of his attention was on houndour, who'd started to glow a painfully bright white, growing in size, tail elongating, horns forming…

And with a howl – _somehow while still breathing fire –_ the houndoom pushed her flames through to the espeon, obliterating the Psychic as if it wasn't even there. The cat-like Pokémon nearly got away, but her rear half was scorched by the Flamethrower. Vulpix, hiding behind the now larger Pokémon, quickly added in a Hex, and that knocked the espeon out of the fight.

Then houndoom revealed what she had mixed in by blasting a Dark Pulse down the field, forcing reuniclus to move on its own for the first time this battle.

On closer look, it seemed like it had been burnt by the earlier Flamethrower, but that didn't seem to hinder it. "Can they have Magic Guard?" Danny asked Max as he took stock of vulpix as well while houndoom was keeping the blob busy. The fox didn't look great, and the Water Pulse that shot in her direction the _instant_ Anabel's slowking appeared on the other side didn't help matters either. Still, it was a fairly slow-moving attack, allowing for an easy dodge, and a Hex in return.

"Think so,' Max replied as he saw the same things Danny did – that houndoom was figuratively running circles around a reuniclus that couldn't do too much except try to avoid attacks by shoving itself out of the way, which worked maybe half the time. "Why is slowking focusing on vulpix?"

He was right. There was something fishy going on here. "Meet up," Danny told both Pokémon, and with one last attack each – houndoom to incinerate, vulpix to alleviate – they moved to be able to cover for each other again.

And then both of them went down to the ground, as reuniclus glowed red. Energy spilled out, heading straight for houndoom, and with a flash of insight, Danny recognised the attack. Pain Split. Which would probably do a lot in rejuvenating the battered Psychic-type.

Grass Knots kept houndoom on the ground. She tore at them incessantly, but slowking was replacing them just as fast as the energy shot towards the Dark-type.

And met a fox.

It still visibly seemed like it had healed the reuniclus – which surprised Danny – and vulpix landed hard to boot. Houndoom got up from his binds, but she couldn't stop the slowking from connecting with a Power Gem to knock vulpix out of the match. Instead, she headed for the other side of the arena, using her mobility to buy Max some time to send xatu out.

"Ideas?" Max asked as the Mystic Pokémon took to the field, not taking to the sky just yet, instead waiting to see what was coming for them. Which was apparently an Imprison. "Always."

"Reuniclus looks pretty tired. She'll want to protect it. Grass Knot makes it hard for houndoom to approach," Danny offered as an Air Slash disrupted a Water Pulse. A Shadow Ball also joined in from the Multiplying Pokémon, but at that range, it was even easier to avoid. At least slowking was a quarter of the way up the field. "Tire it out a bit more, then swoobat it?"

"Gotcha," Max replied before ordering his xatu to defend houndoom, which the Flying-type took to with gusto, using Hidden Power to destabilise an incoming Ice Beam from the slowking, causing an explosion and a gust of probably cold air halfway between the combatants.

Danny's Pokémon had moved as far away as possible from slowking, who was probably about as immobile as reuniclus. The distance allowed her to once again put some focus in to create the same Dark Pulse and Flamethrower combination that she had used earlier to punch through to espeon. A Water Pulse, sped on by a friendly bit of Psychic, blew the attack up, but that left slowking open to an Air Slash, under the cover of the steam, a Dark Pulse went in and probably hit true.

Ember and Air Slash were thrown in as well, the former coming at the cost of taking a Power Gem to the flank, which sent her sprawling, but the pure Psychic-type was on the ground, attempting, but not succeeding to get up as the red hue around the arena's shields flickered.

A Water Pulse nearly connected with houndoom, who shot a Dark Pulse back at the slowking, but it met a Power Gem that nullified it and the incoming Air Slash all at once as the Imprison fell amidst the second of Anabel's Pokémon being knocked out.

And the fourth one landed with a thud that would've caused tremors had there not been shielding. Thankfully, Danny couldn't see a Mega Stone on it, like that one time in Dewford, but he had seen first-hand how good one of these could be.

The opening salvo being a Hyper Beam that went straight for houndoom was a sign alright. She had to get out of the way, barely being able to avoid it, but the Ice Beam connected with her a moment later. For a moment, Danny wondered why it had been that attack, but when metagross levitated itself off the ground to rush forward with a single arm outstretched – Meteor Mash – it became clear. Houndoom half-tripped on the slippery ground, which did cause her to avoid some of the hit, but it still sent her flying as an Ominous Wind tore through the area she'd just left.

Xatu Teleported out of the incoming Power Gem, landing next to houndoom, providing cover with another Ominous Wind to delay the Steel-type, who was only temporarily stopped before going back in with another Meteor Mash.

Houndoom was able to get out, as was xatu, naturally, and the two blasted the space in between with Flamethrower and Air Slash, but a vibrant and hard shield blocked both attacks even as the Pokémon turned in the direction of houndoom, intent on getting the Dark-type out of the battle. "Xatu, go after slowking!" Danny ordered. "Houndoom, help him best you can."

"She's going to get knocked out," Max said as Danny passed behind him, wanting to get a better look at the Royal Pokémon. "Hope you've got a plan."

He had one alright, but with metagross so close by, he didn't want to utter it, so instead, he went for a simple nod as xatu took to the air, Teleporting on high and blasting down an Air Slash on the stationary slowking. Houndoom used a powerful Flamethrower on the metagross to buy herself a moment; the flames making the steel glow with heat, but the momentary pause in movement cost her dearly, as she ate another Meteor Mash, followed by a near-hit from Water Pulse. It would've been a full hit, but a psionic spike downwards shattered the globe mid-flight.

He palmed one pokéball already, but houndoom wasn't out just yet, blasting out a Dark Pulse to cut straight through the Psychic that slowking had sent upwards in an attempt to bring the xatu down to a more manageable level, and jumping high to avoid getting smashed for the third time in under a minute.

This did leave her open to a Hyper Beam that intercepted her near landing, but that was, Danny felt, exactly houndoom's plan. Quick as a flash, he returned the Dark-type and sent out froslass. "Stay high."

"Oh, I see," Max said, cottoning on instantly, as expected. "Still want to swoobat something?"

"Whatever works," Danny said as froslass fired off an Ice Beam at the metagross. It didn't slow it down in the slightest at first as it powered straight through, but then ice started building up on its arms, which forced it to adjust its path in chase of froslass. The Ice-type used her agility to avoid the heavy hulk of a Pokémon, firing off a pair of Shadow Balls into its flank as she did so before zooming off to the other end of the arena.

Where xatu had been annoying slowking from above as well. At range, but Ominous Wind was a hard move to block, though slowking had been able to with some intricate Psychic shields to create a bubble around itself. It tried to do that again, but a Thunderbolt also assaulted the shield. It broke, and that was the sign xatu needed as he Teleported down and unleashed a Synchronoise.

Slowking managed to fight through it, shooting a Power Gem into xatu's left wing, but then a Shadow Ball hit it in the head, causing it to waver and Max's Pokémon to renew his assault as metagross tried to Meteor Mash froslass down to earth.

That didn't work, and slowking fell as metagross vastly overshot.

But the battle was far from over. Metagross sent out a psionic grab, tagging xatu with it and immediately shoving him into the shields nearby, keeping him locked in place as he stormed in with one arm glowing bright white-blue – Ice Punch.

"Blizzard," Max ordered, and froslass immediately turned the Icy Wind she was building into something far more intensive, temperatures dropping immediately. "And… Now!"

It had never held xatu. Not enough. The Mystic Pokémon managed to get out, causing the rare and powerful Pokémon to crash arm-first into the shield, before the area turned into a winter wonderland.

To no surprise, the frost on its arms was no problem, but there was a waver in the flight that hadn't been there before. "That's a start. Tag team it?"

"For now," Danny agreed as their Pokémon took up position at opposite ends of the arena – right for froslass, left for xatu. This left the Ice-type closer, but the metagross went for its fellow Psychic-type instead, sending out a blunt psionic wave to keep froslass occupied. She rode it without any problems as xatu hit an Air Slash. "Why's it going for him first?"

"Beats me," Max said, but he had put his thinking face on. The battle in the air had broken loose, with Flash Cannons and Psychics being simultaneously shot at xatu, whose attempt to Teleport out was only just in time. "Eliminating the weaker one is my guess."

"That works," was Danny's reply as he looked over at froslass, who was building up a Shadow Ball larger than any she'd ever done in battle before.

Then again, she rarely had the time to do so.

It could've fit a toddler inside, and it was fairly slow-moving as a result. Predictably, metagross avoided it with some ease – though the Ice-type had timed her attack well to coincide with it having to wheel around after a failed Meteor Mash rush.

And then the second Shadow Ball blew the entire thing up, creating tremendous downwards pressure as the explosion above rushed outwards. It was enough to buffet froslass from half the arena away; to nearly hurtle xatu into the shields from slightly closer to that, and for twelve hundred pounds of pure steel – give or take fifty – just underneath to crash into the ground with a thud that resembled a cannon blast up close.

Xatu immediately Teleported in for a Synchronoise, which lasted for two seconds before he was flung off psionically and uncontrollably. Teleportation stopped him from hitting the shields, but it took another thirty feet before he could control his flight, during which the metagross had gotten up again, and had sent a Flash Cannon straight into his path.

Ice Beam caught the attention then, and froslass went in hard and fast, tossing out two Shadow Balls and a Confuse Ray in as many seconds. The first attack was slapped aside, while the second and third hit – without any visible effect. "They've got four brains. Confuse Ray's… Not great."

"Just a second is enough," Danny countered. "Xatu, other side."

In a flash, Max's Pokémon reappeared near Anabel, and as before, her Pokémon went after him with almost reckless abandon, sending forth another Flash Cannon, but without the pinning Psychic behind it, it was easily avoided by adjusting height, which he did upwards at first, then downwards twice in response to the next attacks, at which point metagross was too close.

And then xatu just went away, moving across the field and hiding in the literal corner as froslass unleashed a ferocious Blizzard across the field that blanketed everything in white, causing them to lose sight of the other half of the arena.

A Hyper Beam tore through, connecting with xatu from out of nothing, and he fell to the ground, spent, prompting a curse on Max's part. "That's… Two Blizzards, a couple of Shadow Balls, a Synchronoise, an Ice Beam, some other random attacks from xatu, a Flamethrower, and that explosion?" he asked as froslass summoned hail to partially hide herself. "Don't recall it being _this_ resilient."

"That's what three years of training do," Danny replied as Anabel's Pokémon revealed herself, looking a lot worse for the wear. That also didn't stop it from firing off three Flash Cannons in quick succession, none of them bothering froslass too much as she wove through the sky. That lightened his heart. "But I think we've done enough."

"Think so, yeah," Max agreed. "Ice Beam first," he added for froslass, who'd been going for a Shadow Ball volley. She still shot it off, but only with the two that metagross outright ignored as it hovered in place, shooting a Flash Cannon at the nimble Pokémon.

It was a good idea. Ice Beam forced a block – with Psychic, as it happened – and then the Shadow Balls sneaked in under the radar. There was a flash of steel - Flash Cannon defensively – but it had been just too slow, and the explosion buffeted it, making it shake in mid-air and buying froslass precious time to summon her third Blizzard as she drew in all the hail from the nearby area.

That, finally, was enough. With another crash, pretty much into the crater that had formed from the oversized Shadow Ball explosion earlier, metagross hit the ground, and this time, it did not get up. Not for lack of trying, as Danny saw one arm move, but then Anabel returned it.

It had been one _hell_ of a tough battle, but as froslass came on down after a pair of high fives were exchanged, he noticed that she was looking moderately fresh still.

Houndoom's evolution had been _such_ a big help.

"Well," Anabel said as they met up on the sidelines, opposite the crater and right next to a patch of thick ice. "You two were great. Or I should say you six," she added, nodding in Max's direction, where froslass was also hanging out. "I saw good teamwork with both of you and all of your Pokémon pulling their weight. And good planning with some measure of foreknowledge."

"We'd planned on xatu as our third. Can't leave Zap Cannon on the field then, can we?" Max replied cheerily. "Come to think of it, baltoy could've worked too. Not after slowking, of course, but against Zap Cannon.'

"You would get a taste of your own medicine. Espeon knows Synchronoise as well," the Frontier Brain revealed. "Though not nearly as expertly as your xatu." She stuck a hand into a pocket. "For the tricks and knowledge," she said as she handed the Ability Symbol to Max, before turning to Danny. "Congratulations with your new houndoom. That Dark Pulse Flamethrower combination single-handedly changed my third Pokémon."

His eyebrow went up. "Oh? Not the Water-type against two Fire-types?"

"Vulpix wouldn't last long. A mr. mime was my plan."

He'd been around Max long enough to figure out a rudimentary plan of approach in a few seconds. "Barriers for the Embers, redirecting on the Flamethrower?"

"And Dazzling Gleam if you tried to get close," Anabel said, nodding with what looked like definite approval. "But I kept an eye on you during battle as well. You made the plans, didn't you? You've got a knack for these."

"I've always been good at Double Battles," Danny said unselfconsciously. It was true, after all. "And we've okay at teamwork.'

"More than just that. For the planning and the adaptability, this one is yours." The Ability Symbol was placed into his hand. "I hope you'll get the rest."

"That makes at least thirty of us," Danny quipped as froslass hovered closer, reigning in her cold aura to take a look. "Or three, if you want to stick to humans only."

"Probably more than just three. I know Ash is hoping for that as well." The Salon Maiden chuckled a bit for some reason. "I forgot to ask this earlier, and I just remembered… I tend to give my friends gifts on their birthday, but I'm just not coming up with a good one for Ash. Have you got any ideas?"

It was mainly directed at Max, but Danny had an idea or two. "Something for his Pokémon if you want a serious gift. A compass if you want a gag gift."

"Why that?"

"Because he's always getting lost," Max said, shrugging. "Yeah, I had the Pokénav, I know you were going to say it. Y'think they always listened to me?"

"That answer is pretty clear, I guess," Anabel said, and there was a wide smile on her face. As well as a bit of red that hadn't been there before? "I'll look in that direction then. Thank you."

"You can always ask his Mum, too. She'll help."

"Tha—thanks," Anabel said, and there was something about that, that caused Danny to want to react in surprise. Thankfully, he kept it hidden. "One more thing. Do you want to try and see if you can learn the same thing as I have, Max?"

That caused a mouth to fall open, and Danny to catch his own before it could do so. "You're serious?" Max asked, still looking like he couldn't believe what he'd heard. "I think Danny was only joking yesterday."

"I don't know if it will work," the Frontier Brain replied, ignoring the second comment. "Communicating directly with Pokémon is something only a few Trainers can do." She looked Max directly in the eyes. "But there's something that's nudging me to at least let you have a shot. So, let's do that."

Silence fell, and Danny didn't feel it was his right to talk, so he waited for Max to do that. "How many can do it?"

"Like I do?" Anabel asked in return. "I know three others personally, and I know of two more beyond that. And it is different for every single one of us. You know what I can do, of course. Two others can do it on touch only. One can only do it on Ghost-type Pokémon." She gave them a slightly amused look. "It's not every day that you can say human telepathy is the more common skill."

"It sounds sort of difficult if you put it like that," Max pointed out. "Or is that because it's some kind of innate thing?"

"It's innate, and it requires extensive practice." She fixed him with a look. "Don't expect to be good at it next week, or even next year."

"How is some training with you going to help then?" Danny asked, speaking up for the first time in the discussion. It came out harsher than he'd intended. "Eh..."

The Frontier Brain smiled, telling him there was no harm done. "It's like a hidden path. Once you know it's there, you can go down it. And theoretically, gardevoir is one of the best Pokémon for this."

"Did you use espeon for it?" Max asked suddenly.

"I did. And discovering it got me through a really rough patch in my life when I was your age."

Danny wasn't sure if he was supposed to ask what was on his mind, but his mouth had other ideas. "How old are you then?"

"It's rude to ask a lady her age," came the reply he had expected the moment he'd said his words, and it only worsened the blush, but it was diminished by a kind smile. "I'm only twenty-two. And yes, that means what you think it does, Max." She took a look at a nearby wall – or probably the clock on it. "But that story's going to have to wait for tomorrow. Let's say nine, if you can get out of bed that early?"

"Sure."

"Great. I will see you then."

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _In one of the first studies into the human side of Mega Evolution eligibility, Professor Oak of Kanto today shared some preliminary findings that he, Professor Rowan of Sinnoh, and Professor Sycamore of Kalos, had come to believe to be true. In a short press conference, flanked by his grandson, the Kanto Professor revealed that the Mega Evolution process demanded something mental of the Trainer as well, beyond the known bond with one's Pokémon. Details were deliberately light, as both Oaks explained that this was very much theoretical and in much need of specialised testing, but they did share that maturity factored into it._

 _Questions about the four youngest users of Mega Evolution on public record were rebuffed on multiple occasions, with the younger Oak remarking that this information was integral to conceiving the specialised testing that will be needed to ascertain the details. The elder Oak added that revealing this information now could completely nullify the tests and endanger Trainers in the process._

* * *

 **Author's Note:** The Battle Frontier is underway. Next up: Noland and the Factory, with detours for two Gyms in the process.

It's going to be fun, that's for sure.


	35. Change Of Plans

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 34: Change Of Plans**

There was a surprise waiting for Max and Danny when they entered the same room they'd had lunch in the day before. Specifically… "That wasn't there yesterday."

Anabel laughed softly. "No, it wasn't," she said, sitting down on the large mattress that had been put in the middle of the room, shoving all other things to the side. It looked like it was two mattresses shoved together, and then some more. "Distance matters, so sitting close together is a good idea. This is a bit safer if you fall over."

"Did that happen to you?" Danny asked. "That sounds really specific."

"Guilty as charged. Maybe it was that I hadn't eaten anything for a bit, but better safe than sorry." The Frontier Brain got up in one fluid motion. "And besides, not like moving it was any difficult. It–"

Her sentence was interrupted by the sound of an incoming call on a Pokénav. The tune was flighty and whimsical, and something that vaguely reminded Max of something he'd seen when he was younger. It was on the table they'd sat at the day before, now near the door, and Anabel answered it without picking it up. "Anabel here."

"Anabel, it's Bruno. There's an emergency in Rota," said the gruff Elite Four member. Max had met him, naturally, back at the Silver Conference, but they hadn't shared more than two sentences. "I need you to come, and one of your Pokémon to pick up Brock of Pewter."

"What kind of emergency?" Anabel asked as alakazam left the room with a swoosh of vanishing air.

"The Tree of Beginning is glowing. Rota Palace told me that the last time this happened was about three and a half years ago."

"What colour is the glow?" Max interjected before Anabel could speak up, stepping forward. "Orange-red?"

"Max Maple?" Bruno asked to confirm, but he didn't give the opportunity to. "It's green. But nothing like that time."

Anabel's alakazam returned, handing several pokéballs to the Frontier Brain. She clipped them on with audible snaps. "I'm ready Bruno. Do you need transport?"

"Will left some. I'll be at the bridge to the castle, town-side. Bring your company."

The call ended, leaving Max a bit surprised. He had not expected the out-and-out invitation slash order for them to come. "Why did you ask about the colour?"

"Because it turned orange when the mew inside was dying." Anabel reacted to his answer, recoiling instinctively. He could sympathise. "And only lucario sacrificing himself stopped that. And it could've been Ash." He took a step towards alakazam. "I'm ready."

"I'm not," Danny replied, "but someone needs to keep you safe. And like hell I'm going to wait here." He placed a hand on Max's shoulder. "Let's go."

"Can you have your gardevoir transport Brock from the Pewter Gym?"

"Once we're in Rota, yes."

The air shifted around them: from climate-controlled to slightly warmer and fresh air that smelled like recent rain. Murmuring sprang up the moment the three faded into the area, but Max paid it no heed, instead sending gardevoir out and instructing him what to do before looking around and rejoining the two others.

Bruno was easily found. His height alone made him stand out, and if that wasn't it, the muscles or even hairdo were enough. A young boy nearby yelled that it was him, but the Elite Four member shook his head in that direction, and Max saw a parent drag the boy away.

There was a green glow on the horizon, and not the green-blue that had come with mew's rejuvenation from last time. "That's not what I was expecting," Brock said from behind them. "But it's probably the Tree alright."

"It is. It's been doing this for about fifteen minutes now," Bruno said, turning around to face the six of them. "I don't know what is causing it, but after last time, we're not taking chances." He glanced at the two Psychic-types. "Anabel, can your alakazam take us all?"

"Yes," the Frontier Brain replied. "But after that, she'll have to recover for a third."

"That is acceptable. Have her deposit us half a mile from the entrance." He turned to Max and Danny. "Which Pokémon do you have on you?" he asked, prompting them to share their teams. "Good. Now get ready."

They did, and another Teleport happened.

And Max was hit inside the head with _something._ Like he hadn't had anything to drink on a warm day. Annoying. A hand went to his temple, but before it reached, a psionic pulse buffeted him.

He didn't fall thanks to Bruno being in the way, and he opened his eyes to see Anabel's alakazam clutch hands and spoons to her head. Wisps of power thrashed around her, lightly gouging the soft soil until the Frontier Brain returned her; the red looking strange in the unearthly light of the nearby Tree.

Brock summed it up for all of them. "What was that?"

"I… I couldn't reach her," Anabel said, sounding shaken. "It was turmoil and pain and fog." She rubbed her head. "I'm going to try something."

It was another Pokémon appearing. The girafarig tensed up immediately, before starting to buck in place, similar wisps as with alakazam slashing around it. "Wait a minute..." Danny said as the vaguely green-tinted yellow Pokémon vanished into red light. "Max… How are you feeling?"

He knew that tone of voice, even through the annoying pain. "Like I've got a dehydration headache," he answered. "Or something like it."

"Do you know what's going on?"

"I don't _know_ ," Danny stressed as he answered Brock. "Guessing there's something around to annoy Psychic-types specifically." He looked Max straight in the eyes. "Like in June."

"Be that as it may," Bruno said before more questions could be asked. "How can we solve this?"

"There's a machine somewhere. Destroy it, and..." Max spread his hands. "But finding it here's gonna be hard."

"If it's a machine, could it reach mew inside?" Brock asked.

A cold hand grasped Max's heart as he thought about the question. If it disabled alakazam and girafarig, gave him and Anabel a headache, and it could reach into the heart of the Tree… "They're after mew. It won't be able to transform and get out."

"Then this is a distress signal." Bruno unclipped one pokéball from his belt, handing it to Anabel. "My crobat. Use it to find the machine."

"Take steelix too. He's not going to be useful inside."

It was spur of the moment, but it felt both right and wrong. More the first, though. "Here," Max said as he held out his Friend Ball. "He can Teleport to either of us."

They looked at each other for a moment, and Anabel broke contact first. "I'll keep him safe. I _promise._ "

"Good thinking. Now, let's move."

Bruno set off at a jog – for him – that required the rest of them to basically run to keep up. To his surprise, Max felt like he kept up better than he'd expected, and the distance to the entrance was soon covered, without any interference.

As one, four Pokémon came out: a hitmonchan and a kabutops, plus manectric and froslass. "We'll hit a fork inside. Brock, Danny, you take one path. Max and I take the other. Move quietly, and keep your ears open. People prepared to steal mew have a plan for the guardians."

Needless to say, those plans were generally loud. The Golems didn't care about collateral damage, or hadn't three years ago. "And if the guardians find us?"

"Maybe they'll recognise Brock or Max," Bruno answered. "If not, we'll run. Our fight is with the other intruders."

Nothing more was said, and at the first fork, Max and Bruno headed right.

 **~~§~~§~~**

They moved slowly and cautiously. Danny scanned every corner of the tunnel they were in, but nothing prepared him for the semi-open inner cavern that they reached after a sharp bend left. "Whoa..."

"Beautiful, isn't it," Brock said, stopping to allow Danny to look around. The water looked calm and tranquil, and pillars rose into the air, with Pokémon on them. Lileep and cradily, he thought. "Last time I was here, this place was teeming with Pokémon."

"And now it's not?"

"They're hiding. Look closely at the water."

Danny did, and after a moment, he saw what Brock had meant. There were a ton of omanyte and omastar in the water, using the sediment as camouflage. A sole yanma skimmed over the surface hurriedly as well. "They're afraid. Of us?"

"Of what's causing the Tree to react," the Gym Leader corrected. "This is their home, and it's almost alive. These Pokémon are in tune with it more than anything you and I can understand. They sense that something has come to threaten it." He pointed right. "Let's head up. We've got climbing to do."

The path itself wasn't steep enough to cause Danny problems, but having to climb up ledges was something that started to be annoying after the third one in two minutes. "Not the easiest path here, is it?"

"It'll level out in a bit. And hopefully, we won't meet the same Pokémon we did last time."

"Which of the Golems?"

"Regice," Brock said, lifting himself onto ledge with ease before giving Danny a hand for help. "Even if it's probably the easiest for the two of us to hold off, I really don't want to tussle with any of them."

That, Danny could agree with fully.

 **~~§~~§~~**

The path was winding upwards in a spiral, and it wasn't a route Max remembered taking the last time he had been to the Tree of Beginning. Or even if the path had been there at all, really – he didn't remember the fork that they'd used existing. That could've been the headache too, though: it got worse as they climbed.

It levelled out after a bit, and to the right, Max could see a small tunnel to what looked like the outside. "That's an entrance."

"Not surprising. And someone entered here," Bruno added, pointing at some rock dust, which had part of a footprint in it. "Recently. Can't say how many." He put a hand on Max's shoulder. "You've seen the guardians. How many would you send to fight one of them?"

"Two of your Pokémon can easily tag-team them."

"Most Trainers aren't that quality. Nor yours." They resumed walking, Bruno thankfully keeping Max's smaller steps in mind. "But two sounds right. Two trainers, to use that advantage." The Elite Four member looked around across the area, and Max followed suit, ignoring the chills he got when looking down from this height. "That makes six total. Let's hope that they'll be occupied."

"And what do we do if we find them?"

"We defeat them. By any means necessary."

" _Any_ means?"

"Any means," Bruno repeated simply as they reached a narrow tunnel. Hitmonchan gestured once, going on inwards while the rest paused in place. Max gave manectric a quick scratch. "The attack on this place cannot stand. You have my _full_ permission in this."

Manectric barked happily, reaching up to paw at Max's wrist, but he shook his head at her antics. "Not yet. That tunnel looks narrow, and if I return you, it's just wasted." The plaintive whine went ignored with practice. "If it's okay to ask… What's your team?"

"Hitmonlee, toxicroak, heracross, machamp. Medicham and Will's beheeyem are out. I'll tell toxicroak to not use sludge if you use clefairy."

"Same for Metronome," Max said, smiling despite the situation. "Don't want a bridge blowing up under us. That would be..."

His words were interrupted by the return of hitmonchan, who signalled that it was safe. They all filed into the tunnel; the punching Pokémon taking point. Max and manectric followed half side-by-side, and Bruno took up the rear, being able to use his height to see what was up ahead anyway.

They hiked for several minutes, and sound started to filter down the tunnel. Sound that belonged to battle. The two humans exchanged glances, and Max stepped behind manectric as she Mega Evolved mid-step.

Twenty seconds later, as they turned a corner in the tunnel, green met them.

 **~~§~~§~~**

A bridge made out of blue crystal had caused Danny to look at it awkwardly, but he'd followed Brock onto it. The teenager seemed to be taking everything well enough. Brock hadn't really expected differently, but it was still good to know.

Then he saw something he'd really hoped to avoid. Freezing was instinctual: he knew what it was and he knew what it could do. And it wasn't fun or pretty. "That's the immune system stuff, right?" Danny asked.

The green floating blob was. It wasn't doing anything, just floating, but Brock knew that it could spring into action at any moment, and last time, nothing had done anything to it. "Yeah, it is."

"Looks a bit like reuniclus. You think it's dangerous?"

"I know it is," Brock countered. "Doesn't look like they're after anything, thou..."

The blob, and five more that appeared from below out of nowhere, suddenly shot into the tunnel up ahead. Before one of them could say anything about that, a sixth one suddenly appeared between the two Trainers. It squeezed through, even adjusting for his flinching, and then it ignored them as it shot off in the same direction. "Eh..."

"Well… That's new." Brock said, as he let tension drain from his body. Kabutops relaxed a bit as well. "Not going to complain about that."

"Maybe… If it's the immune system, it doesn't see us as a threat?"

"Or there's a bigger threat up ahead." Which was likely. "It's _like_ the immune system. Human and Pokémon ones are pretty indiscriminate, but this one has some form of sentience." He shrugged in response to Danny's jaw dropping. "There's a mew here, and this place has been around for millennia. And we're standing on a bridge made out of solid crystal."

That got through to the teenager, who glanced down for a moment to remind himself of that. The froslass above him seemed to smile fondly. "Let's go see what's up ahead?"

That was a good plan, and kabutops took point while the rest of them followed slowly. They didn't know what was up ahead, but being caught off guard was not a good idea here.

As it was, they found nothing but tunnels and more crystal bridges for about five minutes until a large green blob took up half of the path. A blob that wasn't the same green all-over. "Is that..."

"I think." That wasn't what had happened to them. "Looks like two humans and… A machamp at least."

"There's something underneath the machamp."

Brock took a closer look, spotting a familiar silhouette that he'd seen in battle yesterday after the Gym had been steam-bathed. "That's a magcargo. And a magneton too,' he added, spotting the Electric-type half-hidden behind one of the humans. "Guess that was what they spotted."

The mass pulsed, and a small green bit flew off, away from the two of them. It still caused Brock to take steps back, and more when he saw it morph.

Into _mew?_ And then it hovered in front of them like it was hoping to… Do something? "Are you… Are you mew?"

It shouldn't be, not with that machine keeping Psychic-types disabled. But as the green sort-of Pokémon floated around them, the sense that it _was_ the one living here crept up on him.

Then a registeel landed on the path ahead of them, looking battered, scorched, and all sorts of things, but the dot pattern lit up in an attack pattern when it saw the humans here. Brock's hand immediately went to his belt, but before he could send golem out, the blob moved itself over to in front of registeel.

And without hesitation, the Legendary stood down. "The hell?"

"I think that means it is mew. Or something else that can talk registeel down," Brock told Danny, and the teenager also removed his hand from his belt. He looked calmer than expected. Wasn't this his first time this close to a Legendary? "Are regirock and regice also fighting?"

The mew blob split itself in two, forming arrows. One went off to the right and up, but the other pointed straight down the path they were on. "If we continue… We'll find one?"

Mew reformed, zooming around their heads happily, but then it stopped, affecting a sad look. It looked at the blob and at registeel, and then at them with… Something else? Was that… Hope?

It was a bit weird to see an expression he usually saw on his youngest siblings on the imitation of a Legendary Pokémon, but it didn't even hit the top fifty of weirdest things he'd ever seen. Probably. "You need to stay here with registeel?" he asked. The reply was clear as day. "Okay. We'll go on. And..." he added just as the registeel sat down with a grind of steel against rock. "There's two of our friends here too. Don't freeze them like you did this bunch, okay?"

"So..." Danny said two minutes later, when the tunnel they'd entered was levelling off again. "That's a lot different than Max told me about that immune system. And shouldn't mew be..."

"Should, yes. But there's a lot we don't understand. And I'm not going to think about that now." He looked Danny in the eye as best he could in the dim light. "You were calmer than I thought you'd be."

"You didn't see me jump when registeel landed. But it wasn't really scary after that. Seen scarier."

Whatever the story behind that was, it was going to have to wait. There was more to do.

 **~~§~~§~~**

The Solar Beam passed by the tunnel exit, and so did an Aura Sphere. Something cracked and shattered at the same time, and bright light flared into existence from up above. "Regice," Bruno muttered from behind, a hand nudging Max aside. "Cover me."

Without waiting, the Elite Four member burst out of the tunnel, heading right immediately, and Max followed as the last in line, releasing clefairy. He saw five other Pokémon: jumpluff, mienshao, swampert, and weezing going up against the regice. Manectric aimed for the weezing, hitmonchan punched the swampert out of the way as Bruno ran past everything, going for the Trainers themselves.

Regice attacked the jumpluff, and Gravity held mienshao in place for manectric to electrocute it. Toxicroak slammed itself into swampert as regice turned to Max for a moment.

Time froze for a split second, but then the Ice-type seemed to recognise that he was friendly, too, and charged a Zap Cannon that homed in on manectric. She felt it coming, moving close to the jumpluff that was low to the ground from earlier. The Zap Cannon hit, some of it overflowed into the already hurt Grass-type, and the rest was absorbed by Lightningrod, fuelling a blinding bolt of Thunder that sent the mienshao flying off the platform they were on entirely with a crack of shattering rock.

The two remaining Pokémon were no match without the Trainers to help them.

Moving closer, Max saw that Bruno had been absolutely ruthless. One of the men was unconscious, with blood all over his face from a broken nose. The other was whimpering on the ground, cradling his left wrist. And the martial artist himself was holding a small thing between his fingers. "If you're listening, hear me. I'm Bruno of the Elite Four. You've made a mistake coming here. I will find you. And I will get you."

It sounded cheesy, but Max wasn't going to argue with the man who'd just broken bones on his own. "Any means, huh," he said after a snap of metal announced the device's destruction.

"My word is my word," Bruno replied stoically as he returned the fallen opposing Pokémon and put them in stasis. A chill announced the arrival of regice. "Your duty is to protect the Tree and mew. I know that. But we are stronger. Will you guard these men while we get others?"

"Re-re-gi," said the Ice-type, sounding like it was thinking it over, and no other sound was audible except for whimpering as it did so. "Regice."

"Thank you," Bruno said at the confirmation. "I promise you, we will do everything to keep this place safe."

Regice gave something that looked like a nod before forming a small Ice Beam, aiming it at the feet of the black-wearing thieves. The conscious one whimpered, but Max couldn't find it in himself to feel any kind of pity.

The light of the Sunny Day faded as they went back into the Tree's interior as four again. This path was rocky, and more than once, Max had to be held up after rocks gave way under his feet. "Sorry," he said after the fourth time it had happened; the embarrassment and annoyance warring with the energy from his Mega Evolution bond. "Don't know what's going wrong."

"You're doing it the wrong way around," Bruno replied, which caused Max to raise his eyebrows despite not seeing the Elite Four member. "You're staying light on your feet. Walking on loose rocks needs to be more convincing. Like you're not going to fall over."

It sounded weird and paradoxical, but when Max tried it out, he found that it gave him more control over where he was going. It didn't stop him from needing to be grabbed by the arm one more time, but that that was some scree giving way.

They reached an open area, high up. Looking down, Max saw the same spot that he, Brock, and May had found themselves at after lucario had sacrificed himself. Not that they'd known that at the time. It was also a dead end, with no easy way to get anywhere else. He also didn't remember a fork in the last long tunnel either. "Well, crap."

Bruno didn't respond, instead looking at a few things around them as crystals pulsed in the same green that they'd done all the time. On and off, regular as anything. Mew still thought it was in danger, and the headache Max still had – even if it had been shoved behind the bond and exertion – said clear as day that Anabel hadn't found the machine yet after… Probably forty minutes of searching?

His watch revealed that it had only been about thirty minutes since they'd entered the Tree. It hadn't felt like it, but it was.

"That path down there. Do you know if it leads anywhere?"

"Ash came out of it after everything was done," Max replied. "Didn't ask, but… It's got to be close to the centre."

"And your clefairy… Can she create a low gravity area?"

It wasn't hard to see where Bruno's thoughts were going. "Should be able to. You want to jump the distance?"

"After testing, yes. We can't return ourselves into a pokéball, and there's nothing underneath us." He sighed. "Send her out. Hitmonchan will test."

And as he was about to do that, Max felt something envelop him, and he soared into the sky.

 **~~§~~§~~**

There wasn't any warning when Danny and Brock came out of another tunnel. They saw a regirock off to the side, lying on its back, and two Trainers and a few Pokémon walking down the path further on. "Shit," Brock swore, and Danny immediately looked upwards to see froslass already charging up a Blizzard, zooming forwards with every bit of speed that she could muster. "Probopass, stop them!"

"You too, houndoom," Danny added, throwing in his newly evolved Dark-type as the Trainers noticed them – probably from the sound. "Flamethrower!"

"Thunder!"

Both attacks were not at the optimal range, which probably was the only reason why the entire group of Pokémon wasn't knocked out after taking ice, fire, and lightning. One was returned – a shiftry, Danny thought – but two more were able to stay up and launch counters.

They looked sluggish and tired, though. Dark Pulse ate through the Flash Cannon from a klinklang that went for froslass, who blocked a carracosta's Hydro Pump together with probopass's Power Gem. The explosion tore away part of the path in between the two groups. "Confuse Ray, Dark Pulse!"

"Zap Cannon!"

The Electric-type attack arrived first, obliterating counters in the way, and klinklang was thrown backwards into carracosta, who then took the brunt of the Dark Pulse.

Froslass's Confuse Ray had taken a bit longer, but Danny saw why immediately: the attack covered not only the Pokémon, but also the humans, who started clutching their heads immediately. "Pretty stupid to stay that close to their Pokémon," Brock said. "Kabutops, probopass!"

The former fossil jumped on top of probopass as it used magnetism to start floating, and faster than Danny had thought possible, the two Pokémon crossed the distance as an Icy Wind kept the group of four busy.

Probopass slammed itself into the Pokémon, and kabutops jumped off, vaulted over, and proceeded to headbutt the Trainers down, before taking his scythe-like arms and cutting… Their trousers? Before throwing them off the edge entirely.

But probopass's magnetism easily collected the pokéballs that were on there, as well as the belts. It then sped back, leaving kabutops alone, but a Leaf Blade on carracosta showed that it had things well in hand. Or scythe. "Thunderbolt!"

Brock responded by returning kabutops from afar, and the electricity did its work on humans and Pokémon alike. All of them slumped, twitching in paralysis. "Ash help you with that?"

"Yeah?" Danny had no idea how Brock had figured that out. "Nice trick with the magnets," he said as the probopass arrived back with them. The Gym Leader quickly put the two pokéballs that were filled in stasis mode, before returning the other two Pokémon and doing the same to them.

"Team Rocket inspired, if you can believe it. They liked magnets." The Gym Leader went to check on the knocked-out regirock that was now behind them, and Danny followed him after returning houndoom, waiting while the Pokémon was checked to the best of Brock's abilities. "Can't see anything really bad. Probably just knocked out."

"Leave it here, go on?"

"That's a good idea." He looked into the distance. "Don't know about you, but I'm riding probopass to the other side."

"It can take us?" Danny asked. A jolt of electricity hit him in the hand, and he yelped involuntarily. "Sorry for doubting. You're not a standard riding Pokémon."

It was a bit weird, and he couldn't really get a good grip, but it was good enough for the thirty feet of hovering, giving Danny his first look at the thieves that were still knocked out. He didn't recognise any of them, but the type of clothing they wore – all black, or at least the half that hadn't been ripped off – was familiar somewhere. Not because of the colour, though. It was something else…

He only noticed Brock when he was tapped on the shoulder. "Something wrong?"

"There's something about the clothing that's familiar. Somewhere."

Brock bent down, checking the sleeve of one of them and taking it between his fingers. "There's something woven into it. High quality stuff too. But… What's this?" he said, picking up something from behind one man's ear. "Okay. That's high tech." He tossed it onto the ground. "Pulse it."

A crackle of electricity played over the grey device, and Danny had an idea about what it was. "Communication device?"

"Yeah. Didn't look open. There's a button on top that's probably used to activate it." He stood up. "Probopass, stay here and guard them. We'll go on ahead. Still others to find."

"If Max and Bruno haven't found them already."

"That'd be great."

 **~~§~~§~~**

The mission was going sour. Raphael could feel it in his bones; that sixth sense honed by years of intelligence work.

It had started out okay. The third team had found opposition first: the registeel. That had proceeded along expected lines: careful coverage and copious defensive measures had allowed the team to start winning in a war of attrition, and the first team had started doing the same to the regirock somewhere high-up, they'd reported. The second team was proceeding slowly after having to sneak around a swarm of wild Pokémon.

And then a scream into static had happened, cutting the third team's communication entirely. There was nothing he could do to reach them.

It could mean several things. One was the device being destroyed somehow. This was an option, but the scream didn't match one of terror at being attacked. It had been a surprised one. There hadn't been any pain in there either, which decreased the odds of an attack making it through and disrupting it. There were several options for that, but none that wouldn't be paired with pain at being hit by an attack. It was a mystery he was not inclined to solve.

By that time, the second team had engaged with the regice, and it was not long after that opposition made itself known. That was expected, but the speed at which they had been taken out, as emphasised by terrified shouts and the crunching of bone, was impressive. There had also been no mention of which Pokémon had been arrayed against them, and only the message from one of the Elite Four – Bruno, as was honestly expected – had told him who was responsible.

It didn't add up in full, as a crackle of electricity had burst through the open channel, and Bruno did not have any Pokémon who could muster the voltage to evoke such a sound. Had Surge been at the Plateau?

It mattered not. He was approaching the uppermost reaches of the Tree, with a bit of help from the only Psychic-type in the area that could do anything. The control band also rendered it immune to the disrupting effect of both this device and the ones used in Hoenn. The mew would be easy pickings.

He'd just reached another dead end on the outside of the tree, and he was looking for another platform to Teleport to when he heard a noise from below.

Looking down revealed Bruno and a teenager whose sight was intimately familiar. It was one of the two who got away. The ones that he'd ordered to be captured, which hadn't worked out for whatever reason. His contacts in Johto hadn't been able to find out, even three months later.

And where one was, the other followed. A quick blast of sound in his ear proved that: the last team standing had been engaged after defeating regirock, and a froslass was mentioned before a crashing sound announced things going sour there as well.

The mission was a failure. Mew would not be captured. Not when it was one on four at best, and likely with the teenagers as the weakest of them all.

But Raphael Paulson would be damned if he went home to Hoenn empty-handed. A change of plans was in order, and he knew just what he wanted.

A muttered order to the gardevoir by his side disabled all the pokéballs on the boy's belt. As welcome as the chance to take some powerful Pokémon would be, leaving a Trainer of his calibre with Pokémon anywhere near him was a recipe for disaster. He'd have to settle for just the boy and whatever he had on him.

A bit of talk between the two on the lower level caused a stab of anger. He'd been _so close_ to the mew, but for being too high up.

A second muttered order, and on the count of three, the boy flew upwards, surprised. The manectric turned around, and Raphael saw a Thunder start to form.

But that never hit them, as the world changed from verdant green to seaside rocks in blazing sun. The boy stifled something as he fell onto the ground before being gripped in a bind tight enough to only allow shallow breaths. "Hello, Max Maple."


	36. On The Brink

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 35: On The Brink**

The inner area of the Tree of Beginning was pretty strange. The room was lined with something that looked like stained glass panels, but all in the same colour of pulsing green, alongside a few crystals that did the same. The panels were also not all of the same size, and it felt weird under his fingertips when he touched them. The edges were rougher, but still smoother than expected, too. "What is this?"

Brock did the same thing Danny had done, also tapping on the walls with a nail. "I'm not sure, but it feels like obsidian. Which is..."

The vivid green switched off suddenly, leaving the room in half-darkness before a gentle glow suffused the area. It looked and felt less urgent, as if something had been lifted. A moment later, with a happy cry, a Pokémon descended from above.

Mew. An honest to arceus mew.

Which proceeded to dance around them happily, just as the blob of earlier had done. It was even stranger to see the real flesh and blood Legendary do that, as if it was a young child celebrating something. After a few seconds, though, it stopped, instead settling down against a crystal with a strange outgrowth next to it.

"Looks like exertion," Brock observed, and the mew let out a short cry. It sounded like that was a confirmation. "You were controlling the immune system, right?"

A lack of a flare of psionic powers and a green tendril coming out from the crystal behind it made Danny suspect that it still was, even at rest. He made to voice that, but movement on the other end of the room caught his eye.

It was a hitmonchan. Followed by Bruno, who was holding something in his hands. "We have a pr—"

The sentence was interrupted by Anabel and gardevoir appearing. The Frontier Brain looked like she'd come off worse in a fight, but she relaxed when she saw everyone else present. Her gaze lingered on mew. "Found the machine. I left it where it was, but we can pick it up later," she told Bruno. "And you..."

" _Where is Max?"_ gardevoir interjected suddenly, causing everyone's attention to shift to the Pokémon. He rounded on Bruno, empathy apparently picking something up. _"What happened?!"_

To Danny's surprise, Bruno bowed his head, and something unpleasant nestled itself in the teen's stomach. Then, the Elite Four member opened his hands, revealing a couple of pokéballs. "Your Trainer… He was kidnapped."

Blink. Blink. Kidnapped? Wha—

 _Rage._ Rage and despair and—"

Danny blinked. He was looking upwards. Why was he? He hadn't been, right? Why wa…

"Max!" he yelled, realisation thundering in. He shot up, seeing gardevoir. The Psychic-type was straining against… A shield? No, not straining. Raging.

"The protective rage of a gardevoir." That was Anabel. "Bruno, what happened?"

"There was someone with a Psychic-type of their own. It lifted Max up, and then it and Trainer Teleported out. I don't know where."

"Gardevoir can—"

"This was five minutes ago." Bruno replied. "And it—"

"We can still find him!" Danny said, suddenly next to the shield. There was only one possible source. "Mew. Take. It. Down," he demanded, pounding the shield. "NOW!"

"Danny..."

Something hit him in the back of the knee, and then his hands were stuck. Stuck in large hands. Strong hands. Bruno's hands.

"Listen, Danny, and your Pokémon," Bruno said, looking him straight in the eye. "We don't know where Max is. It could be a trap. It could be too far away. Tactically, it is a risk." The Elite Four member went down to eye-level, somehow still holding Danny's wrists tighter than concrete. "I swear that we'll get him back. But we need to plan. We need to interrogate. We need to _know_."

"We know who's responsible." That was Brock, and Danny found himself flipped around to see the Gym Leader not nearly as calm as his voice made it sound. "And we captured some of them. We'll set up a rescue team, and we'll get Max back."

"We promise," Anabel said softly. "And I understand your rage. Yours and gardevoir's. I can feel it echoing. But you must not let it master you."

What they said calmed him down a bit. Anabel appeared shaken, and Brock looked ready to go back down and beat the information out of the others. Bruno had been detached, but wasn't that what the Elite Four was supposed to be? Lance always was, he remembered.

An arm hit his shoulder, and tightly controlled brittle rage flowed through it. _"You sound sincere,"_ gardevoir replied, seething despite those words. Danny shook his head to not be too affected. The Psychic-type noticed, and the emotions coming through decreased a tiny amount. _"But should it be proven false, I will_ not _hesitate."_

"And we shall deserve it," Anabel said as she held out the Friend Ball. Danny moved an arm – when had Bruno let go? – to grab it. "Brock, you said you'd captured some?"

As the adults started planning stuff, Danny sat down. Bruno gave him the other pokéballs, mentioning that clefairy and manectric knew, before going off elsewhere.

Gardevoir sat down opposite him, not calmed down at all. But when he put an arm on Danny's knee, it wasn't rage alone that flowed through. There was an undercurrent of something else. Of fear. And of… Sorrow?

He wanted to ask, but was pre-empted. _"I lost my father shortly after my brother was born, to an illness that swept the congregation,"_ Max's Pokémon said softly. " _I lost my brother, fuelling a machine like the one that was destroyed earlier. I don't want to… Want to..."_

 **~~§~~§~~**

Danny crashed onto a sofa in the Oak Laboratory, and anyone not liking it could go to hell. The past few hours had been a nightmare between having to tell the police that Max had been kidnapped – and a stupid officer who'd doubted him until he'd literally called Bruno – before explaining everything to Nurse Joy – who had understood – and then finally, relaying the news to the Pokémon who hadn't been there.

Shelgon had gone _berserk._ Danny had expected that, and had given xatu an early heads-up in case getting out of harm's way was needed, but he didn't fancy explaining to Professor Oak or one of the aides exactly why there was now a circle of blackened ash where there'd once been grass and a wooden fence. Even houndoom had been wary of the fire, but the green tinge to it might have been a point there too.

It had taken the combined forces of clefairy trapping him, gulpin using multiple Yawns, and meowstic and xatu using layers of Light Screens to get the enraged Dragon into a fitful sleep that had probably lasted two minutes maximum, but it was enough for Danny to get the hell out of there. The Pokémon would take care of it, sceptile had basically said, and he trusted them to.

The only one not there or being patched up was houndoom, who had refused to leave Danny's side all day, including when talking to the police. It was probably just canine pack behaviour or something, but damn it if it wasn't helping him stay sane.

She pressed her nose into the back of his hand before giving it a hot lick, wanting him to get up. When he did so, her head immediately went into his lap, gazing upwards with sad eyes that were probably a bit overdone.

Who cared. "You know you're a bit too scary to do that," Danny said, getting two fingers between the horns and starting a soft scratch. "It barely worked as houndour, you know."

The look he got back was faked disbelief before she rose up to put her entire front half over Danny's legs, giving a lot of warmth, and most of it comfortable. The growl that she let escape was also weirdly okay to him, even if it probably sounded a bit threatening to others.

But he knew what it was. It was her promise to him that she'd protect him and unleash fiery hell on whoever dared attack him.

Once, the teenager might have thought it strange that one of the Pokémon he'd caught most recently – not even four months ago – could understand him and his feelings so well. Even last year, he would've expressed some doubt: Pokémon were smart, but between not seeing each other all the time and more, it was always a challenge for Trainers and Pokémon to come to understand each other intimately.

This was houndoom's territory, though. She had always loved finding out about the two of them. It was as much her quirk as clefairy's mothering was, or bagon's clinginess back before he'd evolved. Or even marshtomp's lack of fine motor skills that had caused more than a few laughs back in the day.

Back in the day. Before everything. When life was as simple as just travelling, training, and talking about normal teenager stuff. Teasing Max about Linda. Wondering how well they'd do in their first League. Laughing at every little amusing thing.

But also Max's anguish, twice over. The poacher trying to capture masquerain's swarm. The enraged salamence in the mountains above Coral Cape. The fight with Team Aqua in New Mauville. They'd happened too.

Simpler than Kalos, yes. Smaller, sure. But in the moments themselves, it had been every bit as bad, and maybe worse for some. Every time an attack was aimed at them – and usually Max at that – was as heart-stopping as the next, but that first time…

A soft whine knocked Danny out of his thoughts, and he zoned back in to see houndoom looking at him. The canine had left his lap for some reason. "Just memories. Not even that old." He felt a bit of a sting behind his eyes. "They feel long ago, though."

His Pokémon tilted her head before coming in closer, but then a door opening basically straight across caught their attention.

Professor Oak stepped out, looking unsurprised at finding Danny right there and walking straight over. "I hadn't realised your houndoom had evolved," he said by way of greeting. "I imagine that's about the only good thing about today for you."

"Not even today. It was yesterday."

"Ah, during the battle with Anabel?" the Professor asked, and Danny confirmed it. "She does have some scrapes, but it's looking like she hasn't wanted to leave your side?" Another nod. "That is understandable after what happened. But if I promise you I'll keep your Trainer safe, will you go and get yourself checked out? It shouldn't take long."

The Dark-type looked torn, and Danny knew she was about to tell the Professor 'no', so he decided to interject. "I'll be okay with him, houndoom," he told the clingy Pokémon. "And it won't be long. You can guard me all you want afterwards."

That was enough to convince her, and after a short explanation of where to go, the black Pokémon trotted off. "I am surprised she went so easily," Professor Oak remarked once she was out of hearing. Probably. "We'd expected that to take longer."

"We"

"Gary saw you storm in, and the closed circuit cameras told the rest of the story." Danny scanned the ceiling, finding one after a bit of searching. "Come. There are people waiting for us."

"Us?"

They started walking, and the Professor opted not to answer, instead moving with pace and purpose that left anyone they met moving to the side. Danny didn't ask again, hoping that answers would come later.

They did, when the duo passed into the secure area of the Laboratory, and then into a room with a few people he'd seen earlier. Brock was there, as was Gary. Bruno was on the videophone: Danny figured it was a secure connection to the Indigo Plateau. "Good time," the Elite Four member said as the door closed.

"Quite," the Professor agreed. "Brock, Bruno, did you get the details from Gary while I was away?" They both nodded. "Good. Now, Danny, you might want to sit down for this," came the suggestion, but Danny didn't feel like it. "If you insist. We are reasonably certain that it was the Hoenn government, or someone with significant ties to it, who ordered the attack on the Tree of Beginning that was aimed at kidnapping the mew."

Blink. Blink. "Wh… What the hell?" Danny exclaimed. "The Hoenn gov… Why?!"

"Which question do you want answered?" Gary asked. "Why mew? Because it's a Psychic-type, and the Tree of Beginning is a softer target than trying to get lugia to surface in Shamouti. Why they're doing this? Power?"

"Enough, Gary." The Professor placed a hand on Danny's shoulder, pushing him towards a chair. "Our working hypothesis, and I stress it is just that, is that they sought mew to control in one of those machines that you are intimately familiar with. An ambitious plan, but one that could have worked."

"Except that we ruined their plans," Bruno said calmly. "And for that, Kanto has you and Max to thank. Being there allowed us to split up. For that reason alone, everything is being done to find Max and bring him back."

"Reginald and Anabel are scouring the coast on dragonback, looking for boats leaving for Hoenn. The moment Lance is in safe communications range, we'll ask him to help out," Professor Oak explained. "Unfortunately, the teleportation means we are flying blind. The kidnapper could as well leave from near New Bark as they could from Olivine, if they have knowledge of the area. There is a very real chance they'll still get away."

Anger roared in Danny's ears. "And you're just going to let them?!"

Brock grabbed his wrist. "I know it's hard," he said, not letting Danny get out of the hold. "It's a matter of manpower, not because we don't want it. We had enough problems finding Team Rocket when they successfully stole a Pokémon, and that was when we knew what they did, how they operated, and when they couldn't be anywhere in an area as large as a third of Kanto. It's a needle in a haystack, Danny."

"Gardevoir could find them!"

"He could," Professor Oak said, and Danny recognised that tone. "But right now, the kidnapper likely knows someone is looking. They will be wary, on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary. You'd be going into a trap, even if they do not know about gardevoir being able to Teleport to Max." The grey-haired man folded his hands in front of his stomach. "I know it is hard, but..."

He'd had enough. He slammed the door open, leaving the room, intent on finding gardevoir and going after whoever had kidnapped Max.

A wall of pink assaulted him – Yawn, he realised as he felt his brain falling asleep – and just before he stumbled onto the floor, strong arms grabbed him as something flashed.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Awareness was sudden, but dark was the only thing that assaulted him when Danny opened his eyes. He was on something comfortable, feeling strangely rested. It felt like a sofa. He wondered for a split second why he was on one, but then, memories flooded back into his head.

The light automatically turned on as he bolted upright, revealing a small room, empty of everything except the sofa and a lamp hanging from the ceiling. The door was closed, but it was a familiar kind of door. A laboratory door. One that didn't budge when he tried to open it, and after going for his belt to force it open, he found that he had no pokéballs on there either.

Before he could demand something or bang the door, however, it opened. Inward, forcing him to take a hurried step back, and a familiar teenager stood in the door. "Here," Gary said, holding out a plastic bag with six pokéballs in it. "You'll want these."

Danny accepted them mutely, immediately putting them on his belt. He'd figure out which Pokémon he had later, when there was time and room. Room that was also being taken up by an alakazam? "What."

"We need to talk. In private, which is why I'm leaving with alakazam, Gramps," Gary added, seemingly at thin air, and looking pretty annoyed while doing so. That vanished somewhat when his gaze fell on Danny again. "You know the drill."

They reappeared somewhere Danny didn't immediately recognise, but a look around gave him enough of a clue. The Pallet Town harbour was off in the distance to his right – west, then – which meant that this was the coast south of the town proper.

They were on top of a cliff. Not a high one: it was maybe twenty feet to the water, though it was hard to see by the starlight. The sea was calm, and the air was comfortably warm without being too humid. When he turned around, Danny saw Gary send out another Pokémon: a shuppet that immediately lit a fire in a firepit that didn't look improvised. "Everyone needs a place to think. This is mine," the scientist said by way of explanation. He also made a gesture; one that caused the shuppet to dive onto Danny with a gleeful cry.

He threw himself onto the ground out of instinct at something coming his way, but the red aura surrounded him, tinting the darkness, and…

Leaving him surprisingly mellow. Like he could get mad if he wanted to, but it'd take some effort. Effort he could expend, but curiosity at why Gary felt the need to do that was more prevalent. He picked himself up from the grass, seeing, in the limited light, an almost catatonic shuppet. "Warn me the next time."

"So you can run away. Yeah, no," Gary retorted, and Danny had to admit that was a point. "You can send out your Pokémon to shuffle them around on your belt. You're particular like that."

Swampert, froslass, houndoom, exploud, dusclops, aggron. All of them unsurprised to be sent out at this time, in this place. "You told them."

"Had to unless I wanted to spend the next year in hospital," Gary said, shrugging. "Litwick already caused someone to bang his head when it came looking for you. Aggron also tore a door from its hinges later. And before you apologise, don't. What they did – what Gramps did – was wrong. Rationally understandable, but wrong."

Gary Oak, apologising? Danny was certain he wasn't dreaming, but he pinched his skin anyway. It hurt. "Understandable? And what did they do? Yawn doesn't make you sleep for… However long."

"Force-fed you some sleeping pills. Gramps thought you'd be better off asleep." The venom was clear as anything. "Look. He wants to keep you safe. Shit way of doing it, but at least it doesn't get you captured, that's his thinking. Playing defence before playing offence." Gary motioned towards something, and Danny saw it was a rock. "C'mon, sit. We need to talk, and you need food."

At that mention, Danny suddenly realised that his stomach was empty, and that he hadn't eaten anything since noon – and that had been only a bit anyway, in the middle of telling the police. "Okay then," he said, taking the few steps and sitting down while Gary rummaged in another bag. Danny took the time to return all of his Pokémon, excepting houndoom because she wasn't going to let him return her anyway. It also gave him a clear look at the Ghost-type sprawled out on the ground. "That your shuppet?"

"Nah. Someone's. Don't know whose, don't care. Not hard to bribe one with the prospect of a free meal," the older teenager shot back. He also produced two things from the bag, one of which he handed over. It was a forked piece of metal, with a wooden handle. "Turned out it was an all you can eat buffet. It won't be doing much for the next hour. Try not to get too angry."

There was only one possible reason for that warning. "They didn't find Max, then."

"'Course not. The plan was a stupid one anyway. For a spy, Reginald was stupid at not covering his bases on this." A box of some kind popped open. "Let's start with something that'll get you fed."

The smell of spicy sausage overcame the seaside smells, and Danny speared it on his utensil, before putting it above the fire. "Why was it a stupid plan?"

"Couple of reasons," Gary said as he mirrored Danny's moves. "The ones responsible are knowledgeable. That group that got you in June wasn't noticed at all until they found you. Same here. From that, we know they're well-prepared and good at covering their tracks. We also know there's a Pokémon with Teleport. And if you're looking to leave quickly with whatever you got, and not want to risk detection, you don't leave from a harbour. You have a boat waiting for you out at sea."

"Why didn't you tell them that?"

"Only thought of it while waiting for you, then ran it by Lance."

"What'd he say?"

"He agreed, but he'd search anyway. Just in case, he said." The fire sizzled as some fat dripped into it, and Danny adjusted where he was holding his stick-thing. "He'll be by tomorrow evening. Or this evening, technically."

It was. The watch revealed it was around one in the morning. No wonder he'd felt so rested. Nine hours was more than he regularly got. It felt nice, but between a lifetime of sound sleep and having interrupted sleep but Max back… It was always going to be the second.

"I'm going to Hoenn." With or without help. "Not today or tomorrow, but I'm going to look for Max, find him, and rescue him."

"That was obvious," Gary drawled, but Danny didn't care. "But you might want to enlist some aid."

"What? I'm supposed to wait for the help to come help break Max free? Help from the adults?"

"Breaking free, no. You can do that by yourself. Gardevoir alone probably could if there is no machine. The problem," Gary said, pausing to gesture with his sausage, "is that we don't know where he is or will be. And no way of finding out. Unless you're secretly the son of a criminal empire boss."

His Dad had played one once, back when Danny was ten. The original actor had broken his ankle two weeks before the show. But that wasn't the point. "Gardevoir can find him."

"Gardevoir can Teleport to him, but he has limits, and they're lower if he needs to bring you."

"What's your point?"

"You need help. Help that the adults can give. Reginald's a spymaster. He's got contacts in Hoenn even now, bet on that. Lance's dragons can cross the region in hours instead of weeks." Gary gave him a look. "Be angry with them. You're fucking right to be. If they're half the Trainer their status says they are, they'll accept it if you're not angry at them."

Danny frowned, untangling the words. "Angry with and angry at?"

"'What you did was fucking stupid.' Angry with. 'You're a fucking idiot.' Angry at," Gary summarised before letting silence fall.

Danny chose to not respond, instead focusing on the sausage in front of him. His other hand went to the houndoom, who detected now was the time to put her head on his upper leg. She was every bit as comforting as she'd been that afternoon, even when he wasn't angry enough to slam doors. He focused on that while also trying to think of what he could do.

Five or so minutes passed, with the only sound the crackling of flame and branches. The sausage was ready by that time, though too hot to eat still. If it weren't for the constant reminder that Max wasn't there, it could've been something they would've done on their own. Maybe with marshmallows instead of sausages, but the same otherwise. Just sitting and thinking.

He'd give _anything_ to be able to do that again. "Alright. So I convince someone to come with me. Or at least to share information. Then what."

"You find Max, you rescue him, and it's all sunshine and litten and rainbows. Between the ruins of whatever's left of where they held him after gardevoir's done," Gary told him. "Give me time and I'll come up with something more in depth, but there was other stuff to do. Relevant, even."

"How."

"Anabel only disabled the machine. It's intact. Gramps also happens to have a mostly complete set of Unovan Gems that he forgot he ordered. A rush order, even." In the light of the fire, the smirk looked demonic. "And something else. Mew could still do things. That suggests an upper boundary as well as a lower one, which is clear because Max reported a headache back in June and you didn't."

"How's that going to help?"

"With getting Max back? Not a lot. But those attacks in Hoenn have gone on for a long time. It would be a shame if someone found a way to counter them, wouldn't it?" Gary said, before taking a bite of food, reminding Danny that his sausage was safe to eat now. "And to level it with ya, you need to keep busy. So yes, I'm enlisting you. If you don't like it, boo fuckin' hoo. Better this than you blowing up at Gramps and the others. And probably the lab with you if gardevoir's involved."

The emotion drain from earlier was probably the only thing that kept Danny from blowing up right there and then, and that realisation was strange and enlightening. Somehow.

The argument made sense. Or enough sense anyway. He'd lived days waiting for something to happen, one year ago. The days that had been best out of them were the ones that had something for them to do. Like Serena's Showcase, or even travel on foot. Staying in one place? That had been terrible. "You're lucky I need to make an effort to get angry," Danny said softly after finishing his sausage. "Arceus knows..."

"I was there, remember. And you were right, but it doesn't help conversation." An unrepentant shrug. "And you're sure you can get angry?"

"Yes." He took a moment to think; to figure out how to put it. "You know how anger and rage are like a fire? In descriptions."

"Flowery tauros shite, but sure."

"It's like embers. Has been since shuppet did it."

"Huh. I'd have to read the literature on that, then. If there is some." Gary returned the shuppet, which still hadn't moved. "You want another sausa… Of course you do."

"I did skip dinner unwillingly. And—" Danny stopped his words abruptly as he realised something.

"And what."

"Max's cousin. And friends," he whispered. "Evan. Serena. Keith, Jane. Alice, Linda. Hugo. They don't know."

"Yeaaaah, don't talk to me about that." Danny gave the older teenager a hopefully exasperated glare. "Never did the whole friend thing much. Got a couple, but… Pokémon science keeps me busy. You'll have to figure this out by yourself. Or enlist aid not mine." A bag flew through the air, and Danny caught it on reflex. "All yours. And houndoom's, probably. Should be enough for both of you."

"Where are you going?" Danny asked as Gary stood up, stretching once.

"Bed. It's late, and I didn't spend the day sleeping against my will." Another object was lobbed, and Danny caught that, too. The stick fell onto the ground because of it. "See you in the morning."

With that, Gary vanished alongside his alakazam. To the lab, or the Oak home, maybe. That didn't matter, and Danny took a look down to see what he'd caught.

A green pokéball. In stasis, for now.

Light filled the place where Gary had been. Danny didn't want to be alone. Not now, not ever again if he could help it.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Another Teleport, and the insolent child was dropped inside the cellar. There was no daylight coming in; he'd made sure of that earlier by boarding the window, and now, all the blindfolded and gagged boy had was a threadbare mattress and the clothes on his back.

Raphael had taken everything else. The glasses, he'd leave in the room. It helped hammer in the hopelessness, and he controlled the lights regardless. The watch and Pokénav had been flung overboard after the Teleport onto the boat. The boy didn't have a Pokédex on him when captured, so he hadn't needed to get rid of that like the others.

That left just the armband with a kingly prize. A Mega Stone. There were some in Hoenn, but not a lot under friendly control. This could prove useful.

The former intelligence agent left the room, taking a moment to change his clothing to something entirely nondescript. He didn't have a suitable disguise to emulate Team Rocket, Aqua, or Magma garb, so this would have to do. A pair of sunglasses, a hair-hiding hat, and a quick vocal exercise to modulate his voice to the one he'd used on the Johto beach, and he went back into the cellar. The gardevoir followed wordlessly, as she did.

On his mark, gag and blindfold flew off. The boy spluttered at the sudden freedom to breathe and see, before turning a baleful glare on him. "You fucki—"

He couldn't continue, because gardevoir had frozen him in place. Good girl. "Listen carefully, boy. You are here. Nobody knows where you are. Nobody will come to save you. You might feel free to delude yourself otherwise; I care not what you use your pathetic little brain for. Cooperate, and your stay here will be painless. Don't, and you will feel my wrath." He signalled for release, and immediately, the boy took up a combative stance. A pathetic one.

This was followed by something entirely predictable. "Fuck. You."

Another freeze, and Raphael shook his head exaggeratedly. "One minute, stretch."

Thirty-four seconds. That was how long it took for the whelp to whimper as his muscles were stretched _just_ beyond what was normal. One of the few uses for Psychic-types, admittedly. Then, at fifty-six, the first actual cry of pain echoed through the room. _Good._

"I will bring you food and water. Don't bother trying to escape. I will be back tomorrow with questions," Raphael said as the boy cramped on the floor. "If you don't answer them, I'll give you more of that."

With that, he left, and after a short moment of getting dressed again, he Teleported back to the boat that he'd left earlier. The captain needed no signal, raising the anchor and starting to sail back in the direction of Johto.

After all, he had a trail. It wouldn't do for a politician to suddenly come back to Hoenn without actually being seen going back.

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _Pokédex entry:_ _shuppet_

 _Characteristics:_ _sock puppet-like_ _, leviating_ _,_ _Ghost_ _-type. Avg. height: 2'0_ _0_ _'',Avg. weight:_ _5_ _lbs._

 _Detailed information: Though folklore says that shuppet will live in places that have seen vengeance and jealously, it is more accurate to say that they seek these emotions out in the wild. Dark emotions are ambrosia to them, and eventually fuel its evolution into banette. Despite this, a general range of temperament is observed in them, and friendlier ones are often used by professional mediators to defuse arguments._

* * *

 **Author's Note:** And back after the cliffhanger. Shortest chapter in a while, but one sub-scene didn't make sense here and enough got done anyway. Or not done, as Danny is _very_ annoyed with.


	37. A Fearful Reunion

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 36: A Fearful Reunion**

A daycare. It was such a simple target: high impact, low risk of being caught, high traffic around, way too many of them in the country. After the spate of indiscriminate attacks plaguing Hoenn, deliberate targeting was likely to occur. They had gone for the teenagers and young adults in Slateport; the heart of government in Mauville; and now the young in Fallarbor.

He had time until the meeting. The outcome was inevitable regardless; a result of who his friends were. Similar conversations took place elsewhere. Types of Pokémon, now illegal. Quarantined except for those deemed worthy. He would not have problems; but it would take time. Others would not be so lucky; Trainer careers, crippled or snuffed out in a flash.

It was staggering without the information he had. It was _terrifying_ after the revelation that he had been granted earlier that year. Tales straight out of university literature reading. Fear and uncertainty permeating the land; long-time friends looking at each other with distrust. And for what? For fleeting power?

Power was nothing if not backed by force. Moving as such meant that movers suspected they had the force. But what was it? Few supported them. One was a colleague, and four were a tier down; one recently installed as a replacement. History was riddled with the tales of those who moved too soon and paid the price. What made them so certain that they could stand up when the disenfranchised elite rose up?

Sidney knew not what, nor did he hope to find out.

 **~~§~~§~~**

The Pokénav call ended, and Keith… Just sat there. In the small tent, out south of Canalave, early in the wet morning.

"You okay?" Jane asked, nudging him with her foot. She looked shaken, too, though, but she tried to hide it.

Keith had figured out this tell months ago. "No, and neither are you." His eyes stung, and he reached for his pack, looking for the toilet paper.

She accepted a wad gratefully, and both of them blew their noses. "It's not fair. Can't they just have half a year of peace and quiet?" Then, softer. "Danny's got to be feeling terrible. Way worse than he sounded."

"He sounded pretty down," Keith replied, which got him a roll of his girlfriend's eyes. "It's true."

"You'd be worse if I was kidnapped tomorrow. Or in hospital. And don't try to be tough. I've seen you hover when I'm ill or when cramps are terrible," Jane shot back, somehow managing to make it sound like a strange mix of scolding and love. "Those two basically share a brain at this point. Danny should be a wreck."

"Why wasn't he?"

"I don't know. Really don't. Just hope he's not going to do something stupid."

Keith didn't have it in him to reply with something she'd said before: that all teenage boys were pretty stupid by nature.

 **~~§~~§~~**

With a muttered apology, Ash got on charizard's back again, and the draconic Pokémon rose into the air. They quickly ascended to a good distance above the sea, but there weren't any boats to be seen nearby. "South-east," he said, and one of his oldest Pokémon veered in that direction instantly as Ash adjusted the five other pokéballs on his belt.

He knew that it wasn't going to do much. Lance had told him that. Gary had rubbed it in too. If there was even a small chance of finding Max, though… Ash was going to search and try to find one of his friends. It was the least he could do.

And if Lance's suspicion was right, that the Hoenn government was responsible… He was of half a mind to head over there and start thrashing places to find the teenager himself. Danny would help, as would probably half the Gym Leaders and most of the Elite Four. Maybe it'd even get May to pull her head from the sand or however that saying went.

Ash spotted something in the distance. "A bit left," he said over the sound of the rushing wind, and charizard adjusted course for the speck that could be a boat; that could be some place Max was hidden. It would be the fourth boat of the morning, and the fifth speck.

He still wasn't certain what that mystery thing had been. It had looked like an island, but it wasn't there or something? It wasn't even that hot: there shouldn't be any heat mirages or anything out on the open sea...

This speck did turn out to be a boat. One with a woman bathing topless. A good-looking woman bathing topless, and scared after a charizard landed ten feet away.

After apologising and leaving with the heaviest blush he could remember, Ash reflected that _,_ thankfully, pikachu wasn't here to make fun of him.

His starter would have been laughing for _weeks_.

 **~~§~~§~~**

It had been eighty-six hours since Max had been abducted, and to Danny's slight disgust, he was coping with it. He'd mostly fixed his sleep after the first night, found a pastime in demolishing any Trainers willing to take a challenge – in fair fights: he wasn't that cruel – and he'd talked things over with Professor Oak as well. What had happened still wasn't to his liking, but as Gary had said: it was understandable.

That realisation had caused him to apologise for being so angry, or attempt to anyway, but the Professor had silenced him with a single gesture. _"You are fourteen. That alone is enough to occasionally be irrationally angry,_ " the Kantonian had stated, as if he was discussing something like the day's weather. _"But as my grandson quite vociferously stressed this morning, your anger is as rational as can be. And I must admit to having forgotten your age for a moment."_

" _What?"_ Danny had replied, dumbfounded.

" _I am certain you've heard it before, but you are uncommonly mature for your age. Add your knowledge of Pokémon and science, and the chaos that was yesterday, and I completely forgot that I was dealing with someone in the middle of adolescence, with the moods to match."_ A thoughtful look had passed over the Professor's face. _"Though I doubt I would've reacted the same had the situation been reversed between you and Max."_

" _Why's that?"_

" _Physically, you could pass for a year or two older, with few tells to your actual age. It is somewhat the opposite for Max, and my memories of him being here for the first time with the same style of hair certainly don't help. But that is enough reminiscence for today."_

Lance had come by soon after, confirming what everyone had expected: nothing had been found, which meant that all they had to go on was whatever they could get out of the captured six mercenaries. That hadn't had any results yet, but the Grand Champion had said he was optimistic that one or two of them could shed a light on who had been there along with them.

If it was up to Danny, he'd ask gardevoir to take the information by force, but there were laws against that. Gary had told them that back in June.

Speaking of Gary… For someone who flat out told Danny they'd be having these chats nightly, for reasons that smelled of being made up on the spot, he was running late.

It was another five-ish minutes until the cocky teenager appeared in the same spot he'd sat in previously. "Sorry. Debriefing ran long, and had to pick something up."

Debriefing? Could it… "One of them talked?"

"No," Gary said bluntly, taking something from the small bag he was carrying. "But whatever Reginald is, he's an arceus-sent genius at connecting information. He's got an idea of who could be behind it. You're leaving at noon."

Danny nodded, remembering an apologetic Gym Leader who had taken the anger out of tired sails by promising that they'd go to Hoenn together as soon as possible. He'd been packed for that for a day now. "I should probably head to bed soon, then."

"You might want to wait. This came in for you with the evening post," Gary said, extending his hand to hold out an envelope. A letter.

A lampent – Gary's own, Danny knew from two nights ago – provided the light to read by. He recognised Alice's script easily, but when he got into the letter itself, he felt his eyebrows go higher and higher in astonishment. Along with his temper. "She… She managed to get Paul to talk and now she's asking if… If we'd be okay with not trying him as an adult." She'd spelled out the differences pretty clearly. "And asking me if I could convince Max."

"Give me that before you crumple it," Gary commanded, and Danny obliged, noticing only then that he'd gripped it pretty harshly. Lampent went over as well, allowing its Trainer to skim the letter. "I don't know," was said, eventually. "He sounds repentant enough, and he _was_ least into it."

"How d'you know that?"

"Simple. He broke. Easily. Means there's either doubt or awareness of consequences."

"You threatened him with the wrath of gardevoir."

"An empty threat. I know the laws. I told Max about them a few minutes before," Gary reminded him needlessly. "It wouldn't work on the others because they would call my bluff. Your former friend wouldn't do that." He leaned forward as lampent added some more fire to the pit, allowing Danny to see actual features of the area around him. "You probably don't want to think about this now, huh. And you're not feeling forgiving at all at the moment."

"Oak observations at their best," Danny snarked back, fighting down a blush a moment later, but refraining from apologising. The younger Oak had made it clear that he wouldn't accept any apologies because they weren't needed. "I want Max back. Anything else is a distant second."

"More like distant fifth," Gary corrected. "So here's an idea. I go and talk to the dude, see if he's as apologetic as his sister makes it sound. I know what's up and Gramps can probably lean enough to make it work without you two."

That sounded okay enough. "Sure. Fine. If you think that he's sincere, then I'll believe you. But you have to convince Max, not me."

"Sure." The other teenager hesitated, and Danny _thought_ he wanted to say something, but then decided better of it. Or not. "Oh. Fuck it," Gary swore. "Look. I'm not good with friends. Told you that. But ya know, you and Max are two of them. So get him back. By _any_ means necessary."

At that, the teenager suddenly lobbed a pouch. It crashed against Danny's rib cage, and there was something hard in there. Opening it revealed a round object – a Mega Stone that he didn't immediately recognise. It looked familiar, though. "What's this?"

"Gardevoirite. Your uncle found it and passed it on to me. Use it to rescue Max. It should break through the disruptor."

That was still theoretical, but the science and logic behind it was sound enough. Still… "And if Max..."

"If he's not able to, then you will."

The certainty took Danny aback. "What..."

"Makes me say that? Simple. Whatever part of the required bond you lack, empathy can bridge. Whatever thoughts you need; telepathy will reveal. It won't be as effective probably – and that's guesswork – but it should get the job done. And probably cause us to rewrite the literature on Mega Evolution _again._ As you keep doing."

Funny. Gary sounded like he didn't mind that at all.

 **~~§~~§~~**

The boat was pretty battered and old, and it looked like there barely was enough room below deck for three people at the same time, let alone the four that they now were. The way Reginald greeted the old man and his son told Danny enough of a reason why, though.

The Hoennites went below deck, and though there was somehow more room than he'd anticipated, it still didn't look like it was enough if the weather went bad and they'd have to spend the night here. A bit of light filtered in through a small window. They dropped their packs in a corner, and the Gym Leader patted a mat, telling Danny to sit. "You are owed an explanation. How much did Oak tell you about the government?"

"The basics, and that's still insane," Danny replied, biting back on swearing. He'd been doing a lot of that, but Reginald was a bit more stuck up than Professor Oak. "They're responsible for the attacks? How's nobody noticing!?"

"The same reason Team Flare and Team Rocket went unnoticed in Kalos and Kanto for so long. Hiding things is easy if you control the investigation, and they've been cautious in setting everything up." Reginald looked at Danny. "This is something that's been planned for a long time. Longer than you've been a Trainer. The complexity alone tells me that."

"Complexity?"

"We still don't know the owner of that 'private facility'. Or how what is essentially Team Rocket technology ended up in the hands of Hoenn politicians. The tracks run cold, almost too perfectly. Those we capture either do not talk or know little of importance. It is vexing."

"How do you know where to go, then?" Danny asked in return. Gary had said Reginald had figured that out.

"Knowing is not correct. A shrewd guess is the best I have," the older man admitted. "One politician in Hoenn conveniently went away for a medical check-up in Johto, where his brother is a surgeon. This politician used to work in Hoenn's intelligence agency – a spy – and he has just returned again after some unspecified complications with his check-up. He is also a very vocal proponent of what was enacted after the Fallarbor attack on Wednesday morning."

Danny thought it over. "That's… You think he's responsible?"

"He's the best lead I have," Reginald replied gravely. "It is perhaps too convenient and it could be mere coincidence. Yet time is of importance. The longer we wait for the trail to grow cold, the more chance there is that your friend is suddenly 'found', the charges against him are conveniently reinstated, and he spends the rest of his adolescence in juvenile detention or worse." The boat rocked a bit, and the forty-something year old gave Danny a serious look. "We have maybe three days once we arrive."

"So we go find this guy's house and… Hope Max is there?"

"That was the original, ill-thought-out, idea, but earlier today, one comment from Frontier Brain Anabel provided me with alternate inspiration. It will require some amount of practice, but do you think that you and gardevoir can practice so that his Teleport to a person – to Maple – leaves him at a small distance? Say two hundred feet or so."

It took him only a moment to figure out what the purpose was. "He'll move heaven and earth for that," Danny said confidently. "Don't think it'll take long. He kept distance naturally when he first learned to do it. Only thirty feet or so, but the principle of Teleporting in closer and staying further away should be similar enough." He looked at the pack, knowing exactly where Max's pokéballs were. As well as the gardevoirite.

"That'll be what you do tomorrow while I reconnoitre the area and contact people. Then, if he's there, we strike on Monday."

"Where are we going anyway?"

"The safest place to be if you're an unwanted guest in a country is a place that nobody ever goes to," Reginald replied cryptically. "Luckily, the Hoenn government has provided us with such a place by virtue of their policies."

It wasn't hard to follow. It also wasn't what Danny had really _meant._ "Mt. Pyre, but I meant the place we'd have to go. It's not like, near Petalburg or something?"

"No, it's not. Raphael Paulson has an apartment in Mauville, as most in parliament do. His other home is near Purika Town, on Izabe Island."

"As if Max needed more reasons to hate the place. If he's there."

"Indeed."

 **~~§~~§~~**

Max stretched in the small cell, feeling his clothes stick to him from wearing them four days in a row. At least, he thought it was four days. Was it?

One day of boat, then… A meal he'd had to wait for a long time. Then two per day. He thought? Probably?

The door slammed open. Muscles locked up as the gardevoir – the controlled gardevoir – grabbed him. In a strangely familiar grip, too. There was no resisting it. Not if he wanted to stay strong. He needed to stay strong. "Let's talk about your escape from justice," his captor said in that fake voice. "How did you get to Kanto?"

Max gathered all his mental strength, wanting to resist the mental probe he _knew_ was coming. They could do that. He knew that, and he knew it was possible to resist.

But again, it didn't. For the fourth day running. "Let me go."

That caused his arm to be twisted behind his back. Max resisted the grunt of pain. "No. I think not," the man said, and suddenly, all pressure on the teenager vanished, and he collapsed onto the ground. His nearly slammed into the floor before the gardevoir… Put him in a sitting position? Only that? "Your insistence on demanding freedom serves you poorly. Nobody is coming for you, whelp. It is in the best interest to answer before gardevoir… _slips."_

Max didn't answer, instead looking at the unmoving, unblinking, unwilling gardevoir to his captor's side. No emotion whatsoever in its – her? – eyes. A slave. A slave to the armband. He missed his own wristband. Manectric… "They'll find me. And you'll be sorry."

"Kid. They don't know where you are. _You_ don't know where you are," the man told him, before leaning in. "You are all alone. No Pokémon. No power. Just you and me. And you know I'll break you. Just a few more days, I think. You're used to luxury, even as a Trainer. Throw a little headwind at you and you crumble. It's pathetic, and _you_ are pathetic."

Max forced himself to reject the words. They weren't true. Gardevoir could find him. He was in Hoenn. His Pokémon would find him. Help him. Help him _destroy._ "Fuck. You."

The man let out an exaggerated sigh, and Max steeled himself. He knew what would come. It was the same yesterday. What he thought was yesterday. "Still an obstinate whelp. Don't worry. There's a new trick, just for you."

Suddenly, arms and legs collapsed. On themselves. Max's chin went to the ground. Glasses flew off. _Kind of him_. Arms in. Legs in. Head down.

"Five minutes will do."

Arms met legs met torso met vague burning met pressure met uncomfortable met familiar. Better than stretching first, but as Max's mental count passed seventy, or so, it turned… Burning.

Muscles locked in place in bad position. Unwashed legs sticking to trousers. Trousers pressing into underarms. Under watchful gaze. Hated gaze. Painful gaze. Familiar energy.

Why? Why familiar? Pokémon differed. Burning. Ralts felt different than gardevoir. Different touch. Like fingerprint. Signature. Pain tearing. This energy. Familiar. Why? Felt before? Searing, bone-searing. Where? When? Before-before? Pain. Memory. Sadness. Pain. Izabe. Pain. Mauville. Pain.

Screaming. Time passing. Blessed collapse, unwilling to move. "Disappointing," a curse, but leaving man. Leaving gardevoir.

Hands, arms, wrists. Lift up. Glasses. Where's glasses? Same place as normal? What is normal?

Normal, this isn't. But it is. Until he is rescued, it is. 'Please, Danny. Come. Come without gardevoir,' he adds, thinking the unthinkable.

Sorrowful reunions ended badly. Gardevoir and his mother would be same.

 **~~§~~§~~**

It was something like midnight by the time that Mt. Pyre came into view, rising up in the mist that covered the inlet. Reginald ordered something from ahead, and both salamence and the pack flygon adjusted their path to head for the dock, as they'd discussed on the boat earlier.

Pokémon definitely lived up on the mountain, and landing inside a Pokémon habitat, at midnight, had not sounded like a good idea to either of them. Apart from a fight catching attention in case someone was looking, however unlikely, it was home turf for Ghost-types, and they could easily swarm the two of them. At the same time, though, there was a decent chance that the history of Mt. Pyre as a human memorial place had kept the Ghost-types – and occasional vulpix – from the lower interior levels.

The choice had been easy after they'd walked through the two options verbally.

A minute later, all the dragons landed, and Danny got off of his ride. He was happy to be back on solid ground, though it had been a better flight than the last few times he'd been on one. "Thanks for being gentle," he told the salamence, careful to give it a soft rub on its neck only. Then he turned to the adult, who was returning all his Dragon-types. "Let's go in?"

The Gym Leader agreed, and after strapping their packs to their backs – loosely, because they weren't going to go that far in – they entered the closed-down memorial.

It was even eerier than the last time they'd been there, not helped by the unnatural colour of dusclops's Will-O-Wisp providing them light to walk by in the interior darkness. Footsteps echoed as they placed them down, and Danny soon adjusted his step to be quieter, lighter. Neither of them said anything as they moved past, onto the first floor…

Where light filtered through from rooms ahead? What the hell? It didn't look – or feel or smell – like fire, which left that there was either a Pokémon gathering up ahead or other humans. Probably the second. Nocturnal Pokémon didn't need that much light.

A mimed conversation quickly took place, ending with both of them taking out a pokéball – froslass for Danny – and advancing carefully, and in silence.

"Stop skulking, and I won't turn your brains into mush."

The voice somehow came from all sides, but it was a familiar one. "Phoebe?" Reginald said, figuring it out a bit faster. "Is that you?"

"Reginald? Is that _you?_ " the former Elite Four member returned, her voice suddenly only coming from up ahead. Lights on the walls flickered on – every fourth torch – and the short woman appeared in view. "The _hell_ are you doi… What the fuck?"

The former Gym Leader waited for her to at least recover a bit, Danny thought. "We've come to Hoenn to find someone." He shot Danny a look, telling him to not say anything. "Given my status as a fugitive, we needed a place to stay out of sight."

"And what better place than an abandoned memorial that the government would sooner blow up than take care of," Phoebe said, clearly angry. She then took a closer look at Danny. "There's supposed to be two of you. Did something happen to your friend?"

"He is the one we need to find," Reginald said after Danny hesitated, unsure of how to respond. The casual revealing of why they were here shocked him. "He was kidnapped. We suspect he's being held somewhere in Hoenn."

"You? Only suspect? Have you lost your touch so much since you 'kidnapped' Danny here? And what for was that anyway? You've been hiding in Kanto, not caring if your home country goes to _rot_ because of some _goblins_ laying the groundwork for Pokémon _genocide!"_

Wait, what? _Genocide?_

"What I did was _necessary._ Someone was feeding information to enemies of Hoenn, and _you_ told others about _who_ I was," Reginald shot back, and Danny was taken aback at the venom in his voice as well. "And I would not see two legitimate heroes in _prison_ , or worse."

"So you saved the two, and left the rest of the country to, to—"

The reason for Phoebe's stuttering was a sudden, and familiar, red glow around her. One surrounded Reginald a moment later as well, and Danny didn't even flinch when a third shuppet appeared in view, tilting its head as if trying to figure out what to do. "I'm sure you could do it," Danny said, reaching out with his free hand carefully, and being allowed to rub fingers in the nape of the Ghost-type's 'neck'. "Not sure it'd be a good meal for you."

"Damn," Phoebe said, sounding mellow and just a bit out of it. "I'm never getting used to that."

"You're the Ghost-type Master," Danny pointed out. "Shouldn't you _be_ used to it?"

"You would think that. Honestly, I didn't use to get angry that badly before last year." She turned away from him again. "Are you okay, Reginald?"

"Do you have any idea how annoying it is to want to be angry, yet be unable to?" the Gym Leader said, almost… _Whiningly?_ Danny put a finger in his ear. Surely he'd heard wrong. "Clarity-inducing, certainly, but it is vexing to be thrown into such a state suddenly." A shake of the head. "I need a minute or two."

"Sure. The criticism stands, by the way," Phoebe shot back before walking up to Danny, who had to look down a bit. "I know it's the shuppet's influence, but… I'm sorry for saying what I did about you and your friend. I shouldn't, you _are_ heroes, and anything that annoys the government is good in my book."

"Uh… Okay."

"Good. Now, you have a kidnapped friend. Can I or my ghosts help?" she asked, and there was no doubt that she was sincere. Even with the shuppet influence, that couldn't be faked to that extent.

From Danny's left, Reginald chuckled. "You'll like this, Phoebe. Our chief suspect is someone you love to hate."

"Who?"

"Raphael Paulson."

The third shuppet got a bit of a snack after all.

 **~~§~~§~~**

There was no answer on Danny's Pokénav, and when Serena had called the Oak Laboratory to ask after him, the assistant on duty had told her he was out of town, with no idea when he'd be back.

The fourteen-year-old wasn't stupid, and she'd heard better excuses from seven year olds who had done something they really shouldn't have while riding a Pokémon. The reason for Danny's Pokénav being off was that he didn't want it on, and the reason he didn't want it on was because he was somewhere that it wouldn't be safe to have it on.

Serena didn't know if the Pokénav could be used like the Holocaster had been. She thought not, but after what had happened in Kalos, all of them were a bit more cautious than normal. It would probably be on Danny's mind. It also probably wasn't the only thing that they'd picked up.

She still flinched every time she saw Hyper Beam aimed for her Pokémon, thanks to Geosenge.

Route 32, south of Violet City, was mostly sunny, and this particular Pokémon Center came with a nearby lake. After sending out altaria – who loved the weather – and ducklett, the Performer and Coordinator sat down on the wooden pier, letting her feet dangle in the cool water as she thought through what was happening.

Danny had gone to find Max. The long call they'd had on Wednesday had already confirmed that for her. He'd described what Professor Oak had done – and the apology he'd received before he'd called her. He'd talked about a heart-to-heart with Gary Oak, of all people, who'd brought a shuppet to gorge itself on Danny's anger, and that it hadn't been enough. He'd told her outright that he wanted Max back. He hadn't said at what cost, but Serena knew the two of them well enough to fill that in.

Any cost.

Sighing, she took her own Pokénav, wanting to call someone, but then she realised nobody she could call would understand. She had a couple of Coordinator rivals' numbers, but they weren't really friends, and two of them were still thinking one of the boys was her boyfriend, despite Serena repeatedly denying that. And they wouldn't know in the first place.

Evan was out – he probably knew, but wouldn't understand. Max's cousin was way too immature for stuff like this. Her Kalos friends were also not an option: it was about nine o'clock in Johto, which meant that it was like midnight in Prudan, where they were.

Serena was fine with not having that many friends on call normally – everyone did their own thing, and occasionally they had a chat. Right now, though, she needed someone to talk to.

She stared at nothing for a bit, thoughts not going anywhere, body unmoving in indecision of what to do. Ducklett went under the water and back up, covering a blue head with green duckweed. Altaria landed nearby, before waddling up and leaning a head into her back.

It was a wild quagsire and wooper pair that gave her an idea of who she could talk to. It wasn't really fair, Serena realised, to saddle Delia with this, but it was her or her son.

Ash was probably off with Danny anyway, trying to get their friend back from whichever bastards had done the kidnapping.

"Hello Serena," Delia said when she saw who was calling. The teenager still wasn't sure why the Ketchum house had a videophone, but it made things a bit easier. "Needed someone to talk to?"

"Yeah… How did you know?"

"It's written all over your face, and Professor Oak told me what happened." Mimey shuffled into view, waving happily before levitating something that looked like knitting supplies out of a crate in the background. "How are you coping, dear?"

"I… uh… Okay, I guess?" Serena replied, not really certain herself. "It's just…" Deep sigh. "Nobody else knows or understands." She cringed at how whiny it sounded. "Does it make sense that I both want to and don't want to be with Danny right now? To rescue Max?"

Delia smiled kindly. "More than you think. I have often felt similar whenever I knew Ash was up to something. You know up here," she said, tapping her head, "that you'll not help him too much, but the heart wants to anyway." Another smile. "You're not the only one feeling like that, Serena. Even Ash has it right now, if a bit different."

"Ash isn't with Danny?!"

"He wanted to," Delia replied. "But someone convinced him otherwise. Even then, I'm pretty sure he'll go after them with only half a word needed."

Serena thought for a moment, trying to figure out who could have caused Ash to not go with Danny. The list was pretty short, and after another second, she figured it was either Lance or Reginald. But that was stuff she didn't really want to talk about in a Pokémon Center. "You think Danny's going to succeed?"

The brown-haired woman paused in her answer, and it set the teenager on edge. "He will," Delia said, but her conviction sounded… Off. Just a tiny bit. "They'll be back in Kanto before you know it."

Serena thanked Delia, and somehow, she kept it together until she got to her – thankfully one-person – room. There, she collapsed onto her bed, and let the tears that had been threatening to burst through for three minutes and three days both flow.

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _ **May Maple wins Purika Contest**_

 _Long-time Coordinator veteran May Maple, 16, won the Sunday Purika Contest, securing her a place in the November Grand Festival. Utilising her well-known penchant for controlled randomness, she caused an early stir after her skitty formed a spiralling ice sculpture with an Assist-turned-Water Gun and Blizzard, and from there, her skitty and vaporeon were dominant in the Battle Rounds, never winning with fewer than thirty points on her side._

 _When interviewed after the Contest was over, Maple expressed gratitude and happiness for being able to make it to the Grand Festival yet again. Her hope was to improve on the previous year's results of a semi-final, but as she also pointed out: improving on such a good result would be hard, and she called out several other Coordinators as having the skill to challenge her in that spot._


	38. An Unintended Event

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 37: An Unintended Event**

Gardevoir sat down heavily, looking knackered after the afternoon's worth of Teleporting and one round of fighting off annoyed Ghost-types whose habitat he had accidentally dropped in on, somewhere off of Route 120. Danny had largely let him do that, only having froslass intercept a Night Shade at the very end.

It had been therapeutic, by the Embrace Pokémon's own account.

"He shouldn't be that tired," Reginald observed as he came into view. Danny didn't know what he'd been doing all day; the forty-something having waved off the questions with an evasive answer, but it probably had involved flying. Just judging by the windswept look. "Ran into trouble?"

"Nest of Ghost-types wasn't really happy to see him." The teenager stretched out, trying to get a muscle in his back to shift. "Might have been Grudge or something like it in there too. He had it under control, though."

"That'd do it." The adult sat down. "I'll need you to confirm the location tonight."

" _Why shouldn't we save him at that time?"_

It was a question that mirrored one Danny had asked near the end of the trip on the boat. "Two reasons. The lesser is that it's likely that your Trainer would be sedated, and of no use. The greater is that Paulson is a former intelligence officer; a spy. Like myself," Reginald reminded the Pokémon. "Our profession instils paranoia into us. A night-time break-out attempt would be expected. And yes, you could be out in a flash, but if they trap you, we lose everything."

A hint of emotion wafted by, like a sigh that you could somehow feel inside you. _"Caution rules your actions, as you state. Let us hope it does not cost Max."_

A slight shiver ran down Danny's spine at those words, and it wasn't the eerie setting around them. If he was any judge of the gardevoir's character – and he liked to think he was decent at that after months in which the Pokémon had become Max's confidant to rival himself – there was a definite hint at a threat in there.

Which made sense once you thought about it some more, he supposed. But it wouldn't help if the two of them were at each other's throats. "Reginald? Where did you go today? And where did Phoebe go?"

"I was making certain that we are not interrupted. We know that there is a Pokémon capable of Teleportation within Paulson's grasp, with unknown range. Reinforcements would be ruinous, especially considering who he would likely summon."

"Who?" Danny asked, uncertain of where this was heading.

"He could summon a Gym Leader, but the nearest ones are definitely on the out with the government, are taking part in the annual Sootopolis September celebrations, or are easy pickings for us. Not that I would expect LeeAnn to put up too much of a fight," Reginald said casually. "She is many things, but she is not as much of a fighter as others, and we have several Pokémon between us to negate a large area powder attack. Grass is not the problem. Ice is." The Gym Leader sobered a bit. "Glacia is as much an ally of the government in this as she is allowed to be. If she were to take the field, we would be routed."

" _Your plan?"_ gardevoir interjected, still sounding a bit agitated.

For some reason, Reginald let a smirk appear on his face. "If she were occupied by a spar with one of her colleagues, that would buy us some time. She would have to switch out her Pokémon to fresher ones, she'd have to explain…"

"Hang on. You talked to..."

"Sidney. Who contacted us a month ago with information. He is on our side."

"Wouldn't they suspect him?"

"Of being against what they're doing? Yes," was the answer, leaving Danny certain there was a 'but' coming. "But they do not know that he knows about them. They suspect that the advantage in what we call information asymmetry is theirs, whereas in this scenario, it is ours."

That concept sounded familiar somewhere, just based on the individual words and the explanation. "Is this like when… Like when you've got a trick up your sleeve with a Pokémon or move you haven't used yet?"

"A succinct, if slightly simplistic, analogy," Reginald said, nodding approvingly despite that. "One that will do for our purposes. There are many more factors involved, but we do not have the resources, or more importantly, the time for that. Not if we want to save your friend." He left a short pause to allow Danny to understand. "As for Phoebe… She is currently with your uncle, offering her insights and expertise should the laboratory be attacked. Among other points discussed."

"Other points?" Danny asked, feeling suspicious. The spymaster said things for a reason. "What else is she discussing?"

"That we are in Hoenn. Why we are here."

It took him a few moments to recover from hearing that, and even gardevoir was looking surprised. "Why?"

"Because he deserves to know."

" _And?"_ gardevoir cut in, calmly this time, but still demanding an answer: one Danny wasn't sure he would've demanded.

"He deserves to know, both as your uncle and close friend to the Maple family, and as one of the most powerful men in Hoenn," Reginald clarified, before sighing. "I must confess to another reason for being here."

" _Which is?"_

"I've suspected that either influential politicians or high-up civil servants were involved with the attacks for a long time; since before Geosenge." The man rose, starting to pace slowly. "But without proof, my words were meaningless. Understand that we G-men are a hidden organisation, Danny. This is by design: fears of any one region pushing to use the organisation's resources were high when it was founded. As such, few of us are public. I was not, until circumstances forced me to be.

"There is no need to be sorry for that," he added before Danny could reply. "It is what it is. We fled to Kanto, and while I told Lance and several others of my suspicions, I was told that they thought it possible, but that proof was required before anything could be done." Reginald paused, looking straight at the teenager sitting down. "And then you were attacked."

It wasn't hard to follow the reasoning. "They said something about taking us back to Hoenn, I think." It had been said to Max, and Danny had been in pain from getting his arm sliced open. He raised that limb, spotting the discoloured scar easily. It plain didn't tan. "Guess that's when you knew?"

"Mostly. Some inference was required, but plenty to convince others of my opinion. I also told Drake this. He told Phoebe and Sidney, as I had hoped." The Gym Leader sat down again, this time directly opposite the teenager. "Getting Max back is priority number one, this I promise. But afterwards, I intend on staying here and disseminating the truth as wide as I can."

This sounded… Way above Danny's level. It was politics and protesting and… He was probably going to get drawn into it because Max would likely be on board with it. Understandable after being kidnapped, but… "How are you going to do that?"

"I'll think of something, but I do not intend on involving you or Max if I can help it. You have gone through enough already."

Nothing more was said, and Reginald soon left for some fresh air. It was all that Danny needed. "Is he serious about us?"

" _He would like it to be,"_ gardevoir replied softly. _"But I think he recognises the same that you do: that Max will not stand for this."_ Red eyes pierced his soul. _"Are you with us?"_

"Part of me… Part of me wants to run away. Go back to Kanto. Protect Max that way, have a normal life," Danny admitted softly. "Is that wrong?"

The eyes softened, and a gentle wave of apology and comfort washed over him. _"Never. I believe Max knows this too, if he would stop to think about it."_

"But he won't."

" _But indeed he will not. Not unless forced by external means."_

"You mean a broken leg," Danny shot back. "Can't think of anything less that would stop him." He sighed. "Let's hope he doesn't have one of those, regardless. And… And if he does, gardevoir, don't fry the brain of whoever did it."

The silence that followed was more than a bit telling.

 **~~§~~§~~**

"I do not like having to do this," Birch told the former member of the Elite Four as they sat in his den. "Disturbing the natural habitats of Pokémon goes against everything I try to do. Sequestering these Types in either pokéballs or specified areas is..."

"I know, Professor," Phoebe interjected wearily. "I wish we didn't have to discuss this. But the sharpedo in the government are going to leave you no choice if you don't take steps like these now."

That had the ring of falsehood, or at least of something she didn't believe. Birch thought for a second, before assuming that she was moderating her true feelings towards the government for his sake. "They would see me lock all of them up in pokéballs all the time." Which would be safer, theoretically, but there was something about the entire situation that just did not add up. The talk with Gary Oak had only underlined that. "Regarding Ghost-types, do you think the plan for mitigating impact is good?"

"Mostly." Phoebe grabbed the loose map of the grounds that they'd used to discuss the locations of the three Types earlier. "This area is woodland, right?" she said, pointing at a spot south of where the Dark-types were likely going to end up. "Can you relocate some Pokémon resistant to fire to there? So the forest doesn't burn down?"

Birch shook his head. "No real need. If I have a dozen of Dark-Fire Types, it's busy. Most of them are with their Trainers constantly now, and more after the recent attack."

"Then I withdraw my suggestion," the woman in front of him said cheerfully, obviously happy that he'd already considered that angle. It didn't last, as a haunter appeared, and she concentrated for a moment. "Good. Nobody's trying to listen in on you. Or you found all of them."

Where was she going with this? "You'd better have a good reason, Phoebe."

"Yeah? How's this," the former Elite Four member said, wasting no time and producing a note from her pocket. "Your nephew's in Hoenn."

 _What?_ Belatedly, the Pokémon Professor realised he'd blurted that out. Phoebe didn't care, though, instead holding out the note like it would explain everything. "What on Earth… He wouldn't come here..." Unless it was an emergency. But what kind, he wondered, before checking the paper in his hands.

 _Birch,_ the note started, in familiar script he hadn't expected to read again.

 _Circumstances forced us to come here. Us two are safe and hidden, as is something you sent to Kanto recently. Stay safe under the new laws._

It was unsigned, but there was no doubting whose it was. He re-read it, focusing on two words. "Us _two?"_

The grimace that appeared on Phoebe's face boded ill. "Your nephew and his friend helped Bruno out, but Max was taken. Reginald believes the culprit is in Hoenn."

A whoosh announced the haunter summoning an exaggerated Will-O-Wisp, and Birch let the Ghost-type burn the note. Not even ashes remained, and he rose, walking to the dresser behind him and opening a specific drawer. He took out the envelope Oak had given him several months ago, and he soon found the picture he was looking for.

It was a picture with both his nephew and Max in it, as well as all their Pokémon. It wasn't a _proper_ picture: the camera angle was slightly off and baltoy's use of telekinesis caused it to appear just a bit blurry, and it was clearly taken by accident. But it showed everyone – Pokémon and Trainers alike – interacting like pictures often didn't catch. Manectric was getting scratched, while sceptile and froslass were trying to not be in each other's way too much. Danny was smiling as helioptile was reaching for klefki while balancing on his shoulder, one hand at the ready.

In many ways, it was a surprise they even were that unguarded. Birch wouldn't blame them one bit for being paranoid like Reginald, or skittish like others who'd gone through the harsh trauma of facing life-threatening injury or worse multiple times. Somehow, though, they were coping. Together, no doubt.

He took a deep breath, biting down on his first response. "Do you know who is responsible?"

"Do you want to know who is?" Phoebe shot back.

"If there is a rescue attempt in the near future, I will hear of it. Reginald's Pokémon are not subtle. Danny can be like that as well," Birch replied, turning around and placing his hands on the back of his chair. "And if some of Max's Pokémon are involved – which logic dictates they might be, since you don't leave an Ace-level Trainer like him with his Pokémon anywhere near if you can help it – it's even more likely I'll hear of it." Through the whining of certain politicians, no doubt.

"It will change things forever, Maxim," the brown woman replied, returning her haunter blindly as she did. "This hole goes deep. Do you think you can know and _not_ act?"

Why was she being so obtuse? "Tell me."

She did.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Danny lowered the binoculars he was holding. A mile north of the hill he and Reginald were standing on was the house they were going to attack shortly. It looked like an old farm, but the land that probably came with it had been turned into a grassy field with two gazebos. The old barn looked like it didn't see much use at all, and overall, it just was a normal upscale house, except a bit more rural than the ones he usually saw while travelling. If he noticed them at all, that was. It was easy to walk past and not pay attention to.

It was strange to think that Max was in there somewhere, but gardevoir had confirmed it some time the past night, with Reginald's help. "How long did you want me to wait?"

"Until my Pokémon are engaged in battle," the Gym Leader answered, voice slightly muffled from the mask he was wearing. "You will know when that is. Just make sure that your Teleport back will be to here, so I can see that you're safe."

" _Understood."_

"Well. Good luck to us," Reginald said, and with a gentle jab of his foot, the salamence he was seated on rose into the air, alongside a lumbering drampa and a graceful dragonair. The lithe blue Pokémon rose higher than the other two, and overhead, the light cloud cover darkened into storm clouds in about ten seconds, if not less.

A soft crackle of static electricity jolted Danny's leg, but after all this time, the sting didn't last. "Soon," he told the on-edge canine waiting to be reunited with her Trainer. "Soon."

Reginald's plan for catching someone's attention was simple, if a little on the nose. A bolt of lightning to a large tree was the first step, followed by attacks on the old barn roof. The ruckus would cause someone to come and have a look – Paulson probably, though Reginald had said that politicians often had a protective detail. Regardless, he would keep whoever came out busy, which should allow gardevoir to go in, free Max, and then get out.

Danny touched the Mega Stone in his pocket. He'd been unwilling to leave it in Mt. Pyre after he'd caught a haunter looking at it weirdly. Gardevoir knew where it was and could summon it in an emergency, but both of them really hoped it wouldn't come to that, and that either aggron or manectric would take to the field.

The distraction proceeded as planned. Lightning to the tree, and a Hyper Beam to the barn roof and several people stormed out of the house and barn. More than either of them had expected: four in total, and flashes announced Pokémon.

Danny looked away just in time, before bolts tore through the sky, taking care of some flying Pokémon. Ground-to-air attacks followed, mostly rocks and Flamethrowers that were no match for the skilled Dragons.

He gave it thirty seconds more, during which the weather turned worse with a localised shower. Dragonair could do worse, but this held the middle ground between hindering attacks and keeping the opponents busy.

At the end of the half-minute, he turned to gardevoir, holding out a hand. Eagerness and anger flowed into him in equal measure, and his view changed to a dim grey room.

Manectric provided light, and several gasps happened.

Max looked terrible. Still wearing the same clothes as the week before, hair matted, sat in a corner on a mattress that had seen better decades. He tried to stand up, but he clearly got help in doing so: help that wasn't enough to stop the tremor from… Something.

Despite all that, he managed to smile, however weakly. "Knew you'd come."

Danny stepped forward, taking his necklace off with one hand and embracing Max in a one-armed hug with the other. His friend leaned into him as gardevoir joined in. "Use the bond to—"

A push nearly put him into the wall, with Max underneath, and blue energy flares tugged at everything as pain filled the room.

Not his. Gardevoir's.

"'ruptor," Max bit out near Danny's heart. Another flare slammed into his back, and he moved to shield as manectric barked loudly.

A burst of bright light blinded Danny for a moment, and he felt Max sag into his arms, as if his strength had left him. He looked down as a jolt of lightning nearby kept manectric safe – and saw his Key Stone go quiet again.

The Mega Evolution hadn't worked. _How?_ "Max?"

"So much… Stop..." his best friend mumbled, sounding like he was halfway to falling asleep from exhaustion. A hand clutched Danny's pocket as he shoved an arm underneath Max's shoulder, to keep him propped up. "Need to go."

Right. Leaving the hard way, then. "Other pocket, return gardevoir," Danny said as he turned around, resisting the buffet and seeing gardevoir behave like Anabel's alakazam, clutching his hands to his head as power lashed out uncontrollably.

No, not uncontrollably. The wall on the other end was gouged, and something of that force would've hurt them a lot. Even now, he was protecting them.

Then, the door splintered into a million pieces. Manectric's lightning blinded Danny, and a moment later, something hit the wall with a loud thud.

It was the Electric-type, which caused Max to whimper, even as she got up, scratched heavily from what she'd been pelted with. But then, Danny saw another gardevoir move through the doorway. Unhindered by what was going on.

Max fidgeted in his grip before breaking loose. He dove for gardevoir – his, not the blank-looking one – and succeeded in knocking both of them to the ground as an attack wound up on the other end of the room: something pink.

That was all he could see before blood red blinded him from the middle of the room. From Max and gardevoir, who were hidden by it.

Rage slammed into him out of nowhere; the desire to tear something apart limb from limb. Make them pay. Make them suffer. Make them—no! He shook his head violently, trying to banish the foreign thoughts and succeeding a little bit as the Mega Evolution was revealed.

The other gardevoir had left, Danny noticed idly before rushing for Max. His friend was holding the necklace in one hand as he half-knelt on the floor, shaking. When Danny helped him up, though, he noticed it wasn't the same kind of shaking as before.

"Destroy."

Manectric returned herself as a wave of energy went out, and reality… _convulsed_ for a second.

Then things started crashing down around them, but gardevoir didn't care, enveloping them in a protective blue-tinted bubble while also levitating all of them into the air – through the ceiling – and Danny caught a glimpse of a nice living room before an explosion from something rocked it. Water spurted out another place, and a familiar machine fell into view before exploding into nothing.

The feeling of rage subsided a tiny bit as they hit the outside air and the rain that dragonair had summoned earlier, and for a moment, vertigo overtook the teenager as he realised he was looking at the ground from at least twelve feet in the air and not feeling like it at all. It went away soon, and the trio landed on the ground, where Danny immediately took stock of the situation and prepared to send out froslass and dusclops to oppose the Pokémon coming for them.

" _No need,"_ two voices said in harmony, and with a simple gesture of an arm scooping upwards, the soil up ahead erupted, intercepting a charging typhlosion and herdier and sending them both up into the air, where a Hyper Beam took care of both of them.

Then gardevoir grabbed hold of the typhlosion alone and used it as a bludgeon to hit the skuntank that was trying to come closer, dodging the red lance of light that would've returned the Fire-type effortlessly.

A sound behind them caught Danny's attention, and he half-turned to see the building start to collapse in on itself. Immediately, an opaque shield sprung up, blocking his vision of it and protecting them from any debris, and when he looked back, he saw another red beam intercept typhlosion somewhere sixty feet up.

A Shadow Ball went straight for the group of Trainers, dipping down into the ground at their feet while slicing through a double attempt at blocking it. Two of them went flying, landing harshly, and an Ice Beam crossed the area a moment after as dragonair came in.

The salamence landed near them, and Reginald jumped off. "We've been spotted. Girl, two hundred yards that way," he said, pointing off to their left – vaguely north. Two beams went out, returning dragonair and drampa. "Let's leave."

" _Not yet,"_ gardevoir said, summoning another Shadow Ball and sending it into the remains of the house. Something exploded upon impact, but he kept everyone safe effortlessly before vanishing and returning a moment later, with someone else in tow.

Rage spiked as they disappeared.

 **~~§~~§~~**

It was a great day, May thought. She'd gotten her fifth Ribbon in Purika yesterday, and after a slow start and a bit of buying stuff, she'd decided to leave today and travel to a place that just seemed to call to her for some reason.

It was all the way at the other end of the island, on the south side, but she had two months or so left. Sparing a few days to go there would be fine.

Maybe it was a bit sentimental, to go to the place that she knew her brother loved dearly: the place where he'd met ralts for the first time. After seeing him in the Silver Conference, though, she'd honestly started to miss him, despite what Gary had told her.

And perhaps, she had admitted in the dead of night, a few days before, it was the best way to go about it. Meeting him wasn't an option. She knew where he'd probably be, sure, but with that gardevoir and the xatu, she'd never be able to find him for long. He'd run away if he didn't want to see her, and if he did want to see her… She wasn't sure _she_ wanted to in that case.

Their last face-to-face interaction was still fresh in May's mind. Teenage boys could be incredibly angry, and Max was definitely one in that regard. And that anger had festered for months. If she wanted to ever talk to him again, she needed to stay the hell away from him now.

She banished that train of thought from her mind, instead focusing on the trip. She wanted to get at least halfway to that place with the giant claydol today. She'd probably have to walk a bit after dinner for that, but honestly… She had become a bit lazy. Travelling a bit more would make her sleep better, and if she did it right, she wouldn't even feel it in the morning.

It was also a good day to travel. The sky was about half overcast, with a good amount of white cloud cover making sure that it never got too hot here, where she was only about ten miles inland. It'd be worse towards the south side of the island, where the forest was good at keeping the heat trapped, but out here in the open fields, between farms and upscale houses, May was perfectly happy with this weather.

Nothing happened for about an hour, excepting one Trainer challenging her to a battle. The girl was pretty good for her age, May thought, defeating ivysaur with her lopunny, but her jumpluff couldn't defeat munchlax thanks to Metronome hitting Icy Wind. There was a third fight as well, but that had ended in five seconds after the girl's togetic had also used Metronome and had summoned Healing Wish.

It had caused both of them to laugh, and the Grass-types had accepted the offering gratefully, so they'd just called it a draw before going their separate ways again. It was the risk of using the move: sometimes, you just hit something that you couldn't work with at all. That was part of the fun, though, but having this happen to her had caused May to stop using the move early on in battles for a while now.

At least if you got Healing Wish or Memento later on, munchlax had at least done something, instead of just starting with a one-on-two battle that was incredibly hard to win.

May had just eaten half a snack bar when she looked up, spotting the sky darkening entirely too rapidly up ahead, maybe half a mile out. It was local, too. "Rain Dance?" she wondered out loud.

It seemed a bit much, but the main road led that way, so she'd probably find out soon.

What she found was not what she'd expected.

Once she had crested the nearby hill, she saw exactly what was going on. Dragons flying around, attacking and exchanging blows with Pokémon on the ground. The salamence had a rider, too, though May couldn't see who exactly was on there. The dragonair was probably keeping the weather slightly rainy, while the drampa was just doing Dragon things.

She had just processed that when the nearby house exploded in a gulf of red-and-blue light, and out floated a Pokémon with two people by its side. It seemed to be destroying the house as it floated out, and once it landed, May could recognise it as a Mega gardevoir.

She moved a bit closer, making sure to stay well out of the way of the fight as several Pokémon tried – and failed worse than Team Rocket did whenever Ash, May, and Brock had been fed up with the idiots – to attack the gardevoir. She couldn't make out the ones with it, because they were on the far side of the Pokémon.

Then, just after the dragons landed, the gardevoir vanished.

 _She_ reappeared somewhere, then somewhere else again as the air shifted.

A forest. A lake.

The place she had intended to visit.

And then she was frozen. Couldn't move. Could barely breathe. Rage washed over her, stifling hot. Power crept into her skin, ready to be used. She could feel it.

"May Maple," an unfamiliar voice said, but as the man walked into view, she recognised who it was instantly. How could she not. The man who took her brother. "Of all the people to see, it was you. That was why you took her?"

"Why doesn't matter," said a very familiar and slightly scratchy voice, and May saw her brother and his best friend step into view.

He looked _terrible._ Matted hair, dirty face, shaking, clothes that looked like they'd been worn for a week, sunken eyes that seemed to almost reflect the glow of the Key Stone on the necklace he was holding in one hand. He was clearly leaning on Danny to just stay standing. "What happened?!" she blurted out, to her surprise.

"Doesn't matter," Max repeated slowly. "You're here. Want to know." Eyes looked past her.

Images flashed in front of her eyes, indistinct, fast, painful, memories. She tried to relax, but couldn't, and the pain kept building and building and building and…

She nearly fell into the lake. Her hair did. Her head was killing her.

" _She didn't."_ That voice… Inside her head? _"Told only one. A male, green hair._ _Recently._ _"_ Some of the rage subsided. She was flipped around, lifted up, and made to look into the Mega Evolved Pokémon's eyes. Nothing was said, and nothing was done, but the cold gaze promised something.

If she did something wrong, he'd _end_ her.

He set her down, under her own power, but before she could do anything else, Max wavered, shook, and then his legs gave out under him. The Key Stone stopped glowing, and Danny barely kept his head from hitting the ground hard.

He was out cold.

 _What had happened?_

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _ **Politician's Home Destroyed!**_

 _A coordinated attack by unknown terrorists destroyed the Izabe Island house of Raphael Paulson on Monday, around half past five in the afternoon. Paulson himself was unharmed, being elsewhere on the grounds surrounding the house, but several Pokémon belonging to his protective detail were admitted to the Purika Pokémon Center with extensive electrical and blunt force trauma injuries._

 _All Pokémon identified in the attack were Dragon-type, with a dragonair, a drampa, and a salamence all attacking and completely levelling the building. Moreover, Paulson reported seeing a rider atop the salamence, though he declined to confirm if perhaps it had been someone from one of the Dragon Clans of the Home Regions._ "Anyone can train a bagon, _" he told the press outside the Pokémon Center._ "An investigation will unearth those responsible."

[…]

 _Rumours have already started swirling about who would do this, and one name that an anonymous person close to the investigation offered was the one of disgraced Gym Leader Reginald, who fled Hoenn in November and is still wanted for various crimes. (See page 14.)_

* * *

 **Author's Note:** My heartfelt apologies for the schedule slip. My brain did not want to cooperate for basically a week, and then the chapter itself decided to be a pain in the arse to write. It is still shorter than I would like, but one scene was somewhat superfluous and did not want to come together _at all_ , so... Here we are, with the rescue. And an obliterated house. And a Mega Evolution. And some outright morally _wrong_ stuff, and I don't mean the torture of the previous chapters.

There's going to be fallout from this.


	39. Ripping The Bandage

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 38: Ripping The Bandage**

"His body couldn't take any more," the adult said after he'd urgently checked May's little brother for injuries, and after his clefairy – which Danny had sent out – had used a Healing Wish that had done nothing except make Max's breathing more even. "Overload from the stress. Unsurprising."He tilted his head. "I am aware. Danny, if you could?"

"Don't want to leave him," Max's best friend said, now sitting down and clutching a wrist like it was a safety blanket. A deep sigh. "Guess I have to." He got up, obviously reluctantly, and gave May a venomous glare before turning to the gardevoir. "Ready."

They vanished, and May took a moment to grab a pokéball. It was inert with stasis. "Only now figuring that out, Ms. Maple?" Reginald said, folding his arms as his dragonair appeared. "How much did you see?"

"Dragons fighting. House exploding," she said, unlocking the capsule, but deciding to not send blaziken out. Yet. "What were you doing? What happened to Max?"

He scrutinised her. She recognised the look from people who first found out who she was. "Six days ago, your brother was kidnapped while defending the Tree of Beginning in Kanto. We rescued him. There were… complications."

"Like?"

"If I am not mistaken, he has been tortured for information. Directly and indirectly. It is equally likely that he did not give anything up. He is stubborn."

Manaphy, was he _ever._ "How do you know?"

The look she got reminded her of someone about to say she'd asked a stupid question. "Trainers do not collapse and then fail to be revived by a Healing Wish. It is also within the habits of the one whose house was just demolished. At best, it was sleep deprivation."

That sounded bad. "And at worst?"

"That didn't happen," the Gym Leader stated with absolute certainty, leaving her to wonder what that was. "There are many shades of torture in between these extremes. None of them are legal, and none of them are things I'd wish on my worst enemy."

"Who would do that?"

"I can tell you, but not here." He regarded her closely. "You wish to stay with your brother."

"Yes."

A sigh, for some reason. "You can come with us and see him when he's woken up."

"He won't wake up now?"

Any answer was stopped by the arrival of a Nurse Joy, along with Danny and gardevoir. The latter two ignored her, and the Nurse barely gave her a glance. "Oh. That explains a few things," she said when she saw Reginald and Max. "What happened to him?"

"Collapsed under strain after being rescued from kidnapping. He used a Mega Evolution just before."

"He was already shaky before that. Gardevoir clearly helped him in… that room." The Psychic-type hummed affirmatively. "Clefairy's Healing Wish didn't do much."

"Well," the Joy said, sending out a blissey. "I'll have a look as best I can."

The woman and her Pokémon worked in unison as the others looked onward in silence. May looked away once, but met only a glare from Danny when she did that. Max, meanwhile, only responded to what was going on once, and that was because the blissey used some form of attack through her hand. It wasn't in pain, though: if anything, it seemed to feel good.

The focus shifted to arms and legs afterwards, with Nurse Joy tracing something across the inside of Max's elbows multiple times, and blissey doing the same with a very lightly glowing hand afterwards. No reaction came this time, and May wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Eventually, the healthcare professional got up. "The best I can tell, he's got sprains and strains all over his body," she said, addressing Danny and Reginald. "Blissey checked for internal injuries, but didn't find any, and she is good at that. He will have problems moving around for a while. He can take anti-inflammatory painkillers, but it's best if he only does that for a few days to help him remember that his body needs rest. There's also a small first degree burn on his hand. That'll heal naturally."

"What could cause that?" May asked. "The strains, I mean."

"Wrong movements, but in the numbers your brother has… That's not possible. The body would protest long before this point. It's possible for some, but those are generally adults who spend their lives stretching the limits of what their body can do. Not a teenager."

" _May I?"_ gardevoir interjected, and after a shared look between Nurse Joy and her blissey, she gave her permission. _"Hold out your arm,"_ he ordered, and once that was done, he used something psychic on the lower arm. _"Could this cause it, if done in greater amounts and with more power?"_

"It could. It would constitute torture, but it could." She turned towards the other adult. "Do you know who did this?"

It was Danny who answered with a hollow laugh. "We weren't quiet or sneaky."

"Obliteration of property was indeed involved. I will not say whose, but you'll hear soon enough. For now, thank you."

That was a dismissal if ever May had heard one, but Nurse Joy just took it. Probably used to crazy stuff happening. Few of them had looked up when they'd come in off of a Team Rocket scuffle all battered anyway, ever.

"Can you Teleport all of us?" Reginald asked after gardevoir had delivered the nurse back to the nearest Pokémon Center. "Or some of us?"

" _Perhaps just Max and you,_ " was the answer, after a moment's silence. _"I will not endanger him, nor leave him more."_

"Understandable." Two pokéballs went flying towards Danny, who caught one and accepted the other. "Wait fifteen minutes. Stay low once at sea."

"We're taking _her_?"

"Yes." That was final, May realised, but it sure as hell didn't stop the hateful look she got from her brother's best friend. She still wasn't sure what she'd done to deserve it, but it was a bit understandable after hearing what her brother had gone through. Danny was pretty protective of him at the best of times, she distinctly remembered.

Max and Reginald vanished, and, May realised a moment later, so had her pack. "Hey!"

"Easier on salamence if he doesn't have to carry dead weight. Or more dead weight." Danny stretched. "You stay here. I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

"What are you going to do?"

"None of your business." With that, he left, along with both pokéballs.

She wasn't stupid, and so she followed him at a distance, but all that she saw him do was kick branches around, toss a few small rocks, and mutter too softly for her to hear. He never looked in her direction, and she tracked back after a few minutes to make sure he wouldn't see her.

Flying was something she hadn't often done, and the salamence wasn't the gentlest of fliers either, but despite feeling like she wanted to throw up, she didn't as they headed westward, off the island and also going slightly north. Twilight fell before too long, and by the time that she could recognise anything nearby – the Lilycove Inlet – she was soaked to the bone from the spray that the Dragon-type was creating and not shielding her from.

At least, she thought bitterly as she dismounted at their destination – Mt. Pyre – Danny was equally soaked. He didn't give her a second look after returning the salamence and marched inside with sopping trousers and all.

 **~~§~~§~~**

They had made Max as comfortable as possible in a place like Mt. Pyre, and all that was left was for Danny was to wait for his best friend to wake up from his well-earned rest. He didn't care what time that was going to be. He wasn't going to let Max leave his sight except for sleep and toilet breaks for weeks if he had anything to say about it.

His best friend looked a bit better now, after he'd been switched into clean clothes and had a wet cloth pass over his face, arms, and legs to get the worst of the grime off. Better, however, was relative: the hair was still matted as hell, and even asleep, there was something about Max's face that made Danny uncomfortable. Maybe it was the eyes, which lay just a bit deeper in their sockets than normal, or maybe it was the expression, which was drawn, almost tense.

It didn't help that what little movement Max had made in the hours of watching had been to curl up slightly. He didn't appear to be dreaming, which was maybe okay? Dreams helped you cope with stuff, Danny remembered, but right at that point, any dream was probably going to be a nightmare.

He watched, and the hours passed slowly. Reginald came by at one point, leaving easy to digest food before saying his Pokémon would do the guard shift. Several of Max's Pokémon slowly filtered into the room as well: sceptile and manectric first, then poliwhirl stayed for a bit before returning herself to not dry out too much. Vulpix entered from the other side from where they'd set up camp, and Danny figured she'd spent some time with the locals.

Gardevoir and clefairy hadn't come out, but after what they'd done, they deserved rests as well. Gardevoir had stayed with Max until Danny had come by, wet from the spray, only mentioning that it'd be better to change clothing before returning himself.

Danny had promptly done so, not caring about the sleeping Max nearby.

His own Pokémon had come up with some kind of rotation lasting about an hour, using that reminder to also prod Danny to walk around a bit to stretch his legs. Houndoom, dusclops, and diggersby were the ones doing that, but apart from the Dark-type's tail occasionally hitting his legs, they were as quiet and undetectable as anything.

Max stirred not long past midnight. The movement caught everyone's attention, but Danny was the only one who got up. He glanced at sceptile, asking a silent question and receiving a silent nod in return.

Case for glasses in hand, he waited for the stirring to turn into waking. It was five minutes until he heard a soft groan, and he saw a leg twitch at the same time. "Max?" he asked softly, taking a step forward.

His best friend froze, almost unnaturally so, confirming to Danny that he was awake. It caused a small spark of happiness that vanished as no answer came.

Was he keeping silent on purpose? Maybe… "Max… It's me." Another step forward. "You awake?"

"sit… Is it you?" Max asked, voice hoarse, and only audible because it was dead silent otherwise. "Not… Imaginary?"

The urge to point out that imaginary friends would point out that they were real was quashed. Now was not the time to be like they had been. Maybe never again. "It's me. C'mon, open your eyes. Try to see me," Danny replied.

The encouragement worked, and eyes opened. They were unfocused, slightly bloodshot in a way that he hadn't noticed back on Izabe, and still every bit as sunken as before, but they were open, and the moment that Max saw him was clear. As was the cry of pain when he tried to move. "Wha' happened?"

"What do you remember?"

"Pain… You coming in… Tiredness… _Rage_ ," the blue-haired teen listed, eyes moving over Danny before he collapsed onto the mat. "Jirachi… Everything hurts."

"I've got painkillers in the kit, but can't give 'em yet. You know that." He opened the case, taking the glasses out and holding them above Max's head. "Don't move, okay?"

He didn't, and Danny managed to fit the glasses on Max's nose and ears pretty okay. It didn't do much to hide the tiredness, but at least there was some semblance of normality now. "This looks familiar." A hand adjusted the left prong of the glasses. "Is this… Mt. Pyre?"

"Yeah. Perfect place to hide. Nobody's here. Because it's closed."

"What day is it?"

"It's..." Danny checked the time on his watch. "Close to one in the morning. September second," he said. A moment later, he remembered what that day was to Max, and he bit down on his tongue to stop the reply. "Nearly a week since the Tree."

"And still same clothes," Max said, sounding disgusted. "Smell _horrible._ "

"No. Not the same clothes," Danny corrected. "Just same colour shirt. Changed you while you were..."

"Out," Max finished for him. "It was like… Poof, gone. Standing, then lying in pain. And you." Arms moved, and Danny quickly put his hands on the wrists. "No… Need to sit up. Need to… To see."

Carefully, the older of the two wriggled his arm underneath Max's shoulder, and with a heave and a hiss of pain, the younger found himself standing up. He swayed, making Danny think that going from lying down to standing was a mistake, but then Max shifted his weight onto Danny. "Sorry for pulling you way up," he said, realising belatedly that the strains and sprains might've hurt a lot.

"Nah… It's better. Have to do it." Blue hair turned here and there. "This is… Deep in? I think?"

"Yeah," Danny replied, not surprised that Max would remember something like that. "Reginald's sleeping a few rooms over." As was May one over from that, but he wasn't going to mention that right now. "He's responsible for rescuing you, by the way."

A soft whine came from the side, and the two of them slowly turned to see manectric walk up, exaggeratedly shaking her head. "Tric. Ma-tric!" she said, clearly disagreeing with something before starting to rub her head into Max's leg. "Ma..."

"She disagrees," Max said, reaching down to rub her head, gently and shakily. "And… _Thank you,_ " he added, choking up with something.

"It's okay," Danny said softly, as he manoeuvred the two of them into a hug. He felt tears of his own slide down, and he made no effort at trying to hold them back. "You'd do the same."

"Damn right." They ended the hug, and for a moment, Max stood under his own power. Then, he wavered, but the support was there in an instant. "Gah!"

"Max… What happened in there?" He trailed off when he saw and felt Max's mood darken; body tensing. "I..."

"Don't. Not… Not your fault." A deep sigh. " _He_ wanted information. About… About a lot of things. I didn't give it. Got punished."

That part was believable, but there was one thing that didn't add up entirely. "How did he do it? Didn't see anything..."

"Didn't need them. He… He's controlling gardevoir," Max told him, speaking softly. Like he didn't want to believe it. "She..."

Danny cut off the words with a single finger on Max's lips. "I know, silly. I was there," he said, forcing himself to remain calm. Barely. "You're here now. You're safe."

"Danny, it's gardevoir's mother."

What. What. _What!?_ Thoughts raced through his head. How was it possible? How had Max found out? How were they… How… Just how… "Controlled?" he choked out.

"Armband. You saw it. And dead eyes. So dead..." A noisy swallow, but the younger of them seemed to draw strength from sceptile grasping his wrist, gently. "Need to tell him. Where..."

"Resting," Danny answered the question. "He used a lot of energy, also after you dropped. Same for clefairy."

"I didn't see her?"

"Healing Wish." That clearly hadn't done nearly as much as any of them would've hoped. "They're in the room with Reginald. Where I'm sleeping too. Want to go get them?"

"Who else?"

"Poliwhirl. And..." Danny said, looking around, but he couldn't locate the fox. "Vulpix too, but she's been… Mobile? Exploring her old home?"

"She'll show up, I guess. Place is special to her," Max replied, but he, too, sounded a bit curious about what was going on. "No shelgon?"

"Eh… We thought it was a bad idea. Professor Oak's been keeping him locked up. To keep stuff standing."

They started walking, slowly and carefully, Danny making sure that he carried as much as Max would let him."He destroyed things?"

"He got in a fight twice in two days, and went berserk when we told him." Danny picked up the pace a little, sensing that he could. "Was a bit risky."

A nod, but then a bit of silence as they walked through the interior of the abandoned memorial site. It was eerie, with the other rooms not lit up. Manectric provided them with enough to see by, dimming her output in the room where Reginald was sleeping. "Can we go outside?"

"Sure," Danny replied in the same whisper.

Two rooms later, and a misty exterior greeted them, as well as a rush of fresh air that was perfect after spending the last eight hours inside and waiting. There was a bench outside, and Max sat down on it after a bit of guidance. "Why's my hand bandaged?"

"Looked like it had been burnt or something," Danny replied. "Didn't want it to get infected inside, so… Guess we'll take it off now. Better for burns anyway."

One gentle use of Leaf Blade later, the loose bandage fell towards the ground, giving both of them a good look at it. Unfortunately, the limited light made that almost impossible, and Max decided to touch it with a finger. "Feels a but raw, but doesn't hurt." He pressed a bit harder. "That does. What caused it?"

"When you collapsed, I found the Mega Stone near your hand. Think it might be that?"

"Maybe? Stuff's kinda blurry. And..."

"Angry."

"Furious. And painful, but… Different?" Max leant back, and Danny heard sceptile shuffle around, ready to catch the teenager. It wasn't needed. "Gardevoir? Might know more."

That made as much sense as anything, and after bracing for a wave of emotion, the green pokéball opened.

The relief _still_ nearly knocked him flat and brought definite tears to his eyes.

He stepped away, giving the two some privacy while they reconnected. Instead, he walked towards the pier, and it was no surprise that one of the Dragons on guard duty came down towards him. It was the dragonair, whose bell pulsed with almost curious green light once when it came close. "Yeah. He's awake." Thank _Mew_. "Nothing here?"

The whole-body wiggle was definitely negative, as was the soft cry. In fact, it gave Danny the distinct idea that it was almost too quiet for the Dragon-type. He chuckled at the contrast before running a quick finger across the middle of its back, which caused it to shiver before flying off, pulsing out energy from the crystal around its neck.

The mist around the island cleared a bit. Not too much, because it'd be suspicious, but enough that you could still see even without manectric being a nightlight.

Sudden agony brought Danny to his knees. It didn't take a genius to figure out what the cause was, he reflected as he got up, and he rejoined Max and gardevoir while trying to keep a lid on his own emotions. "…know she doesn't. She hasn't got a choice."

" _How?!"_

Danny suppressed a wince. That had been loud as hell. Max didn't seem to notice, though. "There's technology that can do it. Ancient and modern. Ash saw it a few times. Told us about it."

" _How did that stop?"_

"Break it. Somehow," was the answer, and it was clear that Max wanted to be able to tell gardevoir more, but couldn't.

"We'll need your help for it," Danny added softly, and he flinched under the glare. "Max said it. No choice. She does everything that her controller orders. _Including torturing someone she liked_."

Maybe the emphasis was a bit much. _This_ glare scared him stiff.

An eternity passed. "Enough." That was Max, harsh. "He's right, gardevoir. She did do it. You think she would if she had any choice?" He let it sink in, and Danny felt like he could move his arms again. Legs, not so much. "I don't blame her. I'd never."

The brittle rage broke, replaced by deep, deep, sorrow. _"I lost my brother to them. I can't lose my mother too..."_

Carefully, Max reached over, and Danny shot forward in case something went wrong. "We did," he said leaning into his Psychic-type, one arm reaching around. "And we won't lose her." Eyes locked, and the words came from two mouths as one. "We promise."

 **~~§~~§~~**

Scowling, Danny stepped aside after exiting the room Max was in, leaving the path free for May. She ignored it for now, but she'd be lying if it wasn't getting really old _really_ fast. He'd talked past her when he told Reginald that Max had been awake earlier. He hadn't responded when she asked him for a quick spar…

Yeah, sure, there was the whole thing where they thought that she did something, but she _hadn't_ and he knew. Come off it, seriously…

Her brother looked a lot better than he had earlier. Sorta clean, even. And the gardevoir was nowhere to be seen either: only his manectric was there, sitting beside him as he'd propped himself up against one of the pillars in the room. That was good: she'd always liked the canine. "Hey Max."

"May." Moving like he was forty, not fourteen, he got up. He still leaned against the pillar.

"Hey Max," she said softly, keeping her distance for now. "How are you feeling?"

"Worse now that you're here."

"Don't you remember? Gardevoir said..."

"That you didn't tell anyone. Except Drew, not too long ago," Max finished for her. "I remember, May. Don't care. You could've, you just didn't."

"That makes no sense!" She was tempted to throw her hands up, but she kept her calm. 'He's just being a moody teenager,' she reminded herself. "And I never would have."

"Really." That was Danny, and May turned around to see him walk up to the two of them. How had the taller teenager been so quiet? "Could've fooled us alright. Going on television. Saying that you thought we were being taken advantage of."

"I didn't say that. I said..."

"Yeah yeah," Danny interrupted her rudely. "Keep telling yourself that. We're not stupid, we can read between the lines."

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" May said quickly, hoping to at least get through to them before they'd get each other angrier and angrier. "I was wrong. I know that."

It seemed to be the wrong thing to say. Her brother glared at her, reminding her of a different time they'd been at each other's throats. "Wrong? Just wrong when you told me that I needed to face it? That ralts was dead? Or that you weren't going to bail me out when I had Lance's letter ready? Didn't hear excuses for that, now did I?" He spat onto the ground. "Don't know why gardevoir took you along. Waste of energy."

"Maybe because I'm your sister and he knows it." She rounded on Danny, who'd chuckled for some reason. "What?"

"Max hasn't called you his sister in months. And now I know why." The tall teenager drew himself up a bit. "You're nothing like what a sister should be. You're nothing like what a friend should be, too."

"Wha..."

"Didn't even ask before you told Max that Ash was responsible for killing a kirlia. When you told him ralts was dead _two days before!_ " Danny spat venomously.

Okay. _Fuck_ staying calm. She was not going to just take this. "Shut up!" she snarled. "You weren't there when Ash jumped into danger again and again and again. He goes looking for it, Danny. Don't know what excuse he gave you for wrecking that lab, but he lied about it."

The teenager balled his fists, but then Max cleared his throat, and May saw that he was _livid._ "Fuck off, May. You're too stupid to understand." Gardevoir came out. "Let's go."

Before her eyes, the two teenagers Teleported away. May didn't know where, but she wasn't inclined to go look for them. Stupid childish idiotic…

Red overtook her vision.

 **~~§~~§~~**

It was midnight by the time that dragonair came down from the sky to alert Phoebe to the incoming flight. She had returned a few hours before, finding the two teenagers in a mood she recognised from shuppet snacking. They'd seemed happy enough to see her, though, and after a bit of chatter about Ghost-types and moves – turned out the gardevoir was learning Shadow Ball – she'd left them to rest.

Not that either of them admitted they needed the sleep, but teenage boys did as teenage boys were, and one of them had been locked up not even thirty hours before. They needed it.

Then Reginald had dropped by her, saying that Sidney was going to come here. He'd said no more, preferring to only explain once, but even the most dimwitted politician could see the writing on the wall.

He was staying. Good.

It had taken a while for the Dark-type Master to arrive. Reginald had told her that there was a hearing about whether or not Sidney could continue to be a member of the Elite Four in this time and age. Phoebe guessed it would be a 'no', but regardless, it meant that it was going to be a late-night chat. Or early morning, she supposed.

The tropius landed easily, and Sidney seemed wholly unsurprised to see her here. Reginald had probably told him that they'd met. "Phoebe, my favourite Ghost-type Master. Fine atmosphere we got here, innit? Fog and creepy; we're riiiight at home."

"Have you been drinking again?" she asked in return, rolling her eyes as he dismounted tropius. Her haunter floated away to get the other. "Or are you trying to be funny?"

"A bit of levity never hurt, not that you'd ever catch Mauville saying that." Those words were decidedly not-slurred. "Quit. We're not getting younger; the body takes too long to recover. Been juice since March." He moved into the light of the small lantern that illuminated the area around her. "Nobody knows. Eccentricity's advantage." He held out his arms.

She accepted the friendly hug as one of her Ghosts told her something. "So. How did you get roped in?"

"By finding a very enterprising and slightly foolish G-men agent pumping the seedy underparts of Lilycove for information," Reginald answered, appearing just as the mismagius had communicated. "As well as cleaning up the streets. How is that going, Sidney?"

"Got a lab last week. Second one of the summer. 'course, one's probably opened elsewhere, but the guy's workin' for a pardon hard," Sidney said. "And he's not even on the radar of others, best I can tell."

"How do you know?"

In response to the question, Sidney sent out a sableye. "This little guy goes out with a small microphone. Nobody ever looks up into the shadows, and he's good at sticking to them." The Ghost/Dark hybrid flickered in a Faint Attack for a moment. "Enough about that. Reginald?"

"Let's head inside," Phoebe said as her banette returned, unhappy. "Some of the locals are territorial."

They did just that. "Sidney, you are the most up-to-date. What is the government doing?"

"Don't know if I know much more than you do; downside of being who I am," the lanky man said, leaning against a pillar as the others had sat down. Somehow, he managed to avoid looking down on them. "They're consolidating power; outlawing things that needn't be outlawed, and not everyone's okay with that."

"How many Gym Leaders are on our side?"

"Ignoring three, about five more I can say for sure. Six, provided you use _them_. Brawly, LeeAnn, Flannery, Juan, Winona." A wry smile. "A pattern unfolds here; irrelevant as it likely is."

Phoebe didn't see it, but she had other things to worry about. "Why focus on just the Gym Leaders? Why not regular people too?"

"They are scared, and will follow whoever's most charismatic about it," Reginald replied dismissively. "It is also dangerous. Do not forget that this is a government that attacks its own citizens." He turned to Sidney. "And Wattson?"

"Wants nothing more than to be left alone, for all his realisation that he is in the heat of the forge. Play it right, he's off the board. Play it wrong, he's forced in by them."

"And enemies?"

"Four. Dragon, Ice, Bug, Rock."

"Not Cory?"

"Falling out. My colleague overstepped her bounds." Sidney sounded very unrepentant about that, and Phoebe wouldn't put it past him to have fanned the flames a bit with some careful words. "Interestingly, only one on the main landmass."

"She was on board early on," Reginald replied. "And what you say is a common thread regardless."

"So, what are we going to do now that we know where everyone's standing?"

Reginald turned towards her in response. "We disseminate the truth of what has happened to them. The allies for sure. Some neutrals as well. Once they know, we can go further. Methodical steps work best."

For someone who professed that there was grave danger, it was a surprisingly tepid response, and Phoebe didn't like it. She flashed a sign out of Reginald's vision, and she saw the nod. "Alright. I suppose you want us to contact them?"

"Sidney more than you." Reginald sounded – and probably was – genuinely sorry about that. "He has motive, you less so."

"Motive?"

"For the time being, I am on administrative tasks only." He sounded rather happier than Phoebe would've expected about that. "It was easy to arrange: simple questioning what was happening with the Dark and a request of my own with a lie most foul that I could not trust my own Pokémon. The politicians lapped it up like a young litten milk."

"And as such, he will undertake a periodic check of all Gyms, which will give him ample excuse to move around the region to those Gym Leaders you cannot approach." Reginald regarded her. "Who can you approach?"

She thought for a second, thinking about who she had excuses to meet. "I can run into Brawly while visiting my parents, and LeeAnn is a good friend. I can probably get away with Gwen too," she added, listing the neutral Fairy-type Gym Leader. "Got her a mimikyu Egg last autumn."

"Good. You contact them in the next few weeks, and we'll move from there. I will be scouring the region, trying to find clues to where they're striking next and trying to disable some of their machines." He pulled out a meter that was wholly unfamiliar. "Before that, I will have to take care of the rescuee."

"How long is that going to take?" Phoebe asked.

"Probably a week. Birch can do the rest easily, and will as well. Provided this afternoon doesn't cause a setback."

"What happened?"

"I made a mistake," Reginald admitted, to Phoebe's surprise. "Through a stroke of cosmic luck, Maple's sister saw part of our assault. I convinced her to come here, hoping to reconcile the siblings and to gain another influential ally. I was… Very sorely mistaken."

That probably explained the shuppet snacking symptoms. She'd have to pump the boys for the story. Or the shuppets. Either would work.

 **~~§~~§~~**

"I see. It makes sense why you did not include that in the report then," Santi said after Raphael had explained the reasoning. If anyone connected a rampaging gardevoir to what they were known to be, questions would be raised. They didn't have the clout to bury that. Yet. "A pity that he didn't reveal anything."

"Greater men than mere boys would have broken. There is something that gave him mental strength as his body was pushed."

"How long until _he_ can move freely?"

Raphael thought it over. There had been extensive shaking after the last session, and the boy had clearly been affected even five hours afterwards at the escape. "Several days until he can move around somewhat. Two weeks until most of his day should be painless."

"That gives us time."

"It does, but are we going to wait?"

"I understand that you wish for revenge, Raphael, but as you _well_ know, the ability to be anywhere within a large area makes hiding easy. They could be in a G-men safehouse, or on one of the myriad islands. We do not have the manpower to search, but we know where they'll go."

"They would suspect a trap."

"Reginald would, but after what happened, would you trust him to keep your captive under control and not seek vengeance?"

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _Following the recent attacks, Hoenn Elite Four Member Sidney will now travel the region to make certain that all Gym Leaders know what to do in the event of an attack on their town. This move, along with further restrictions, is one that the Hoenn government hopes will finally bring an end to the continuous outbreaks of Pokémon violence in the region. Previous restrictions, however, have not proven to be effective in the long term, although overall casualties went down slightly on a year-to-year basis in the first six months of this year._


	40. Two Roads Diverging

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

 **Temp. A/N:** No update in the week of September 28/29 due to my schedule being entirely too busy.

* * *

 **Chapter 39: Two Roads Diverging**

Five days after being rescued, Max finally felt like he could at least move around without the aches constantly making themselves known. Slowly, sure, but it was _something_ that was going his way. Most of the rest wasn't.

He wasn't blaming everyone else for being a bit overprotective. He'd felt the anger and worry that both Danny and gardevoir had felt, and the depths of their relief when they'd seen him awake again, after the collapse from overexertion. They helped him with stuff that was hard for him in his injured state, but they also let him do something on his own if he asked – which he'd done twice now. Danny had even found a walking stick somewhere so he could get around easier.

It didn't mean that he didn't chafe at the restrictions he was under, though. He wasn't to leave the island, and anywhere outside of the couple of rooms they'd claimed as their own, he always had to keep someone with him. He also wasn't allowed to do anything physically strenuous, which apparently included lifting his pack up so he could get to something at the bottom. Gardevoir had gotten it for him, after sneaking a peek in his mind – which the Psychic-type had clearly gotten better at if it didn't even cause a headache. Just a moment of split vision and it had been plucked right out of his mind.

Max _had_ been thinking about it, so maybe that was some help.

"You look much better this morning," Phoebe said, coming up from behind him all of a sudden, causing him to flinch. "Way better posture and all. Guess you're on the way to recovery, huh."

"Jirachi, I hope so. This isn't fun." He turned around, only to see the former Elite Four member give him a strange look. "What?"

"Oh, nothing. Nothing important," she amended. "You're the only person I've _ever_ met to swear by jirachi, that's all." She shrugged, and the horn of a shuppet became visible for a moment. "Most people stick with mew, if they use a Psychic-type. But I guess you've got a good reason for that."

"You know about that?"

"Sidney did. Not sure why, but you know him. Understanding how his brain works is not for simple mortals like us." She sat down, inviting Max to do the same. He did, ignoring the jolt of pain. Mostly. "Bet you want to just wish the pain away, huh."

He made to reply, but a memory changed what he was about to say."Maybe? Wishes can be misinterpreted."

"Be careful what you wish for, huh. Something happened there, so… Spill."

Max shoved away the part of him that insisted that Phoebe was only there out of pity or something. "I, uh… I wished for candy, and that went wrong because jirachi filled a van with it," he started, smiling as he remembered the scramble to get out. "Then May wanted to get rid of the problem, and jirachi thought that was _her,_ so he dumped her in the mountain of candy."

"Yep, that's bein' careful with your wishes alright." The amusement was clear as day. "Some people say you never forget your first love, but that counts for Legendaries too."

"Which one did you see first?"

"Moltres. Boring, I know, but when your aunt lives in the Sevii Islands and you spend a lot of time there, the local one eventually shows up." Phoebe laughed, for some reason. "Just realised. Eight year old me would be scandalised to hear me describe a moltres as boring."

"Ironically, it's the only one of the birds I haven't seen," Max pointed out drily. "Saw articuno with Ash, saw zapdos in Kalos."

"I've seen them all. Zapdos over in Sinnoh when I was your age, and probably the same articuno. Noland's?" She smiled at his nod. "Now I'm curious. I know that friend of yours is a magnet for Legendaries, but how many have you seen?"

"How do I count duplicates?"

"If you think they're the same, you don't, but if they're different, count all of them."

That was different from the last time that he'd had to answer the question, and Max got to counting. Start with twelve, add four for Brandon's regis and the second deoxys, add yveltal, xerneas, zapdos… He'd keep the second celebi out of it. Didn't even know for sure if it wasn't the same one, because time travel, and explaining why there were two celebi on the list if she pressed for an answer was… Not something he really wanted to do right there and then. "Nineteen," he said, proceeding to list them. "You?"

It took a moment for a reply, and a fierce shake of the head too. "And here I was thinking my seventeen was going to beat yours," Phoebe said, faking disappointment before listing them all. She'd seen the birds – twice for moltres – and the golems – twice for all of them. Then there were _two_ lugia, three of the Alolan island guardians when she'd been training there in her early twenties, regigigas, and a tornadus to round it out. "And I'm even betting you've seen more in the last two years, so… Not even going to ask."

"It's just four."

"Still more than I saw. Or most people on their journey, for that matter." An amused sigh. "At least I've got you beat in Pokémon still." She stretched out a bit, causing the shuppet that had been behind her earlier to shoot up. "When all of this is done, how about we find some abandoned spot and have a battle?"

What now? "Uuh…. You're way better. Not sure I'd get anything out of it."

"Your bonds with your Pokémon are strong, and you've got the constitution to step back and analyse things. I think you might surprise yourself." A chill ran down Max's spine as a powerful Ghost-type suddenly descended from the ceiling, and he turned to see a banette. The shuppet joined it in a… Happy ritual? "And that is a thing too. I want to hear the whole story behind how that happened."

He sighed, not surprised that Danny – who else could it be – had told her about his sensing powerful Ghost-types. "We don't know how it happened."

"Yet. You're not the kind of teen to just let that lie. It's just that you've been… Otherwise occupied."

The delivery was so absurd Max had to snort regardless of what she was referring to. "That's one way of putting it."

"The best way," Phoebe asserted, before turning serious, mood whiplashing _hard_. "Between you and me… How about we make a deal. One of us captures him, we tell the other and get some payback."

"Deal."

 **~~§~~§~~**

Another day, another trip for supplies. Gardevoir dropped him off outside of Mead Town before returning himself, and Danny donned the cap and sunglasses that kept him unrecognisable before setting out to walk the mile or so that he knew a bit from two years ago.

While walking, he made certain to slightly change the way he held himself. Maybe it wouldn't do much – he hadn't exactly asked Reginald about this, even if the spy had approved of the headwear that Phoebe had supplied at Danny's request – but from watching way too many of his Dad's shows when he was younger, he remembered that changing that did a lot to make you look different.

And it was fun, too. He could do with a bit of fun after the last week. Most fun in Mt. Pyre was sapped away by the dreary location and the fact that Max was far from recovery. Getting better, sure, but still a long way from being okay.

Even if it was faster than he thought it would be, after seeing how nearly broken his best friend was in that cellar on Izabe, even before that disruptor had started up.

And somehow, minds had aligned and something else maybe, and suddenly, there was a Mega in the room, rage whirling like a mini tornado. It had been scary, but the more he thought about it, the less it really became that.

He liked to think he was more level-headed than Max was, and part of him was a bit afraid of what gardevoir had done, but only in the sense that he was afraid of what most truly powerful Pokémon could do when they set their mind to it.

His uncle had described it as healthy fear and respect over a year back, after they'd chatted a bit about zapdos and the power it had unleashed in that thunderstorm on Route 13.

The rage didn't bother him any longer. It had been shocking in the moment because of the sudden contrast, but now that he'd been able to think about it… It was perfectly in line with the protectiveness of the Pokémon as a species, which was their defining Pokédex feature in most entries for a reason.

Max had definitely also gotten a dose of that. Either because he'd primed himself for it with wanting with all his heart for ralts to be his starter, or because of who he was of himself, or maybe it was some kind of additional influence from ralts from beyond the grave, like the sensitivity… It didn't matter. It never had. It never would.

Max was Max. His best friend. Until the day one of them died.

He looked up to see that he'd entered the town proper, and off to the side, he saw a stand with newspapers in them. The sight of one of them made him remember which exact day it was.

September eleventh. A year since Geosenge.

He paused to check the paper in more detail. The top half was just a headline and the top of a picture that Danny recognised as being taken at the ceremony in Lumiose later. Only their heads were visible – Danny's far more than Max's, naturally – and unfolding it revealed the rest of the very same picture, as well as an article that both summarised what had happened a year ago and posed a few questions about the government's continued refusal to honour them as they'd been honoured in Kalos.

Really, what had he been expecting with a headline like _Heroes of Hoenn: A Year Onward._

He was tempted to buy it for Max's amusement, but decided against it. Nobody his age even read the newspaper, so it would be suspicious as heck. Still, it was a nice reminder that not everyone was of the same mind as the government about them.

He needed that after last week, too.

Just as he put it down, a man coughed behind him. "You gonna buy or what?"

"No sir," Danny said, turning around to reveal a grey-haired kindly-faced man, looking to be somewhere in his sixties. He was shorter by a couple of inches, not helped by a slight stoop. "Headline caught my attention is all."

"Can see how it would. Kids're younger than you." He reached past Danny, picking up a paper for himself. "Whatcha think, son. You with 'em government types, or ya think they didn't do nothing?"

Was he really being asked about this? Ugh, he was bad at lying on the spot. "Lost track of what they were accused of," he replied. "Some kind of destruction?"

"That's the one. 'course, G-men don't go in for nothing. They say somethin' was wrong there, I'll believe 'em any day over blabbering politicians." A glob of spit hit the pavement. "Heroes one day, exiles next. Was good to hear they got ta Kanto." He beckoned Danny to come closer. "I reckon they know too much. Summat about the government or attacks. And _they_ don't want 'em to tell."

"Why didn't they tell anyone, then?"

"Hah. They did. Why'd'ya think they got in Kanto. Not sure why they didn't tell others, though. Iffen ya ask me, they shoulda done that. People'd believe 'em."

"They're only fourteen, I think? Why'd they be so believable?"

"Holes the size of groudon in government's story. If only ya pay attention and read a little." He looked Danny up and down. "Still on the road, I see?"

"Ever Grande. My last," the teenager replied with a shrug. "Not good enough to go on."

"With someone?"

"Friend's outside of town. I got short straw for food."

"Good on ya. Together's always better 'n alone." He held out a hand. "Good ta meet ya. I'm Phil."

"Daniel." The smile was predictable. "I know. Always been Daniel."

"Well, Daniel. Good luck in Ever Grande, 'n remember that government lies."

With that, the man went inside, and after a moment, it became clear he was the proprietor of the small store. Which explained why he'd wondered about Danny buying it.

The disguised teenager walked off, daring not to hurry too much for risk of looking suspicious. That had been a conversation for the ages, and Max was going to love it when he heard about it. If only for laughing at him for having to lie on the spot like he did.

Reginald probably would want to know this too. He remembered the newspaper being national, and if it was in a stand like that, it probably had a good amount of readers. There was probably something that the spy could glean from a newspaper being openly supportive like that, but that was way beyond Danny's understanding for now.

He'd pick that up in the future, no doubt, but for now, he was fourteen, and he…

Needed a snack, according to his rumbling stomach.

 **~~§~~§~~**

"Norman! What's up!" the boisterous Dewford Gym Leader greeted him as he walked into the island's Gym. "Spending the weekend here or what?"

"Today and tomorrow," the Petalburg Gym Leader replied, giving a firm shake and refraining from rolling his eyes when the younger man tried to do some kind of hip and new thing. He'd long stopped trying to make sense of today's fashion. "Caroline has wanted a weekend out of town for a while, so I made reservations at the spa." They shared a grin. "It's a good way to keep your girlfriend happy."

"Oh, I know. I know," Brawly said, now full-on smiling, before sobering rapidly. "But you don't come here for nothing. What is it you want to talk about?"

Stupid Gym Leaders didn't exist, as much as some of his colleagues sometimes looked like it, and as much as the man in front of him acted like he was some kind of Alolan surfer stereotype instead of the former apprentice to Bruno. "Things we cannot openly talk about."

Two minutes later, they were in the private area of the Gym. Brawly had a house down the coast, but by convention, every Gym did have some place to unwind between matches. The Fighting-type Trainer's was sparse, and seemingly rarely used. "It's about the restrictions, right?"

"Among other things, but let's start with them." He leaned back in the comfortable chair. "You know I treat everything neutrally, looking into the issues, right? I did so when the first restrictions were announced, and found that they weren't really effective, but when the attacks seemed to taper off… Maybe the research was wrong?"

"And then they started happening more and more again."

"And then they picked back up, yes," Norman agreed. "And I started looking into the details of the specific attacks. Did you know it's always mostly wild Pokémon involved, but with a significant amount of Trainer Pokémon as well? Less in recent months, for a variety of reasons, but enough to rule out that it's some kind of Type-affecting disease or something."

"Sure," was all he got out of his opposite, who waved him on.

"Not sure what it could be, but this is two days before Fallarbor. Didn't have time to ask Maxim if he knew anything before everything went to hell in a basket." He shook his head, both at the senseless loss of life and at the reaction. "Government bans all Dark, Ghost, Psychic-type Pokémon unless you've got a permit, overruling the Gym Leader Council in the process on keeping those Gyms open. How there's talk about going even further and forcibly taking those Pokémon from Trainers if they're involved in an attack? Even if they have a permit." The forty-one year old fixed his gaze on his younger counterpart. "There's just something that doesn't make sense here."

"And what makes you think that I know more?"

"I don't expect you to, but… You're the first available target." For which he was sorry, and hopefully he conveyed that well enough. "Excepting Roxanne, but her reaction is both predictable and bordering the line of what is and is not allowed."

That got him a laugh, at least. A bit of a hollow one, maybe. "True enough, Norman, true enough." Brawly leant back in his chair in response, folding his hands behind his head as he thought. "What're they gonna do with the taken Pokémon, do you know?"

"Hopefully, try to rehabilitate them and return them to the Trainers. The more I hear, however, the less likely I think that is. Probably drop them in a warehouse under stasis until the crisis is over."

"Or worse." Brawly stood up, starting to pace. "I had a conversation a few days back, about how these things seem innocent, but mirror some very bad things. Perhaps it was scaremongering, but the pattern… Just the pattern."

"What pattern?"

"Do you remember what happened during the last war between Sinnoh and Kanto from history classes in school?"

Norman snorted. "I was… Not the most attentive child that year. Worst teacher I ever had."

Brawly paused to smile in commiseration for something that happened before he was even born. Barely. "People who were from the 'other' region were taken to special camps. Officially, that was all there was to it, but it came to light later that it wasn't all sunshine and daisies in those camps. Lots of slave labour 'n stuff. Bad time." The pacing stopped in full. "And the first thing that happened was those 'others' being put away as worth less. Just as one of those high-up politicians – forgot the name – said earlier this week. Openly."

It sounded a bit far-fetched, to be honest. The scaremongering of an extremist. Except Brawly was only into extremely big waves and an extreme interpretation of 'live and let live' that had caused him to edge around the borders of the League Politics Act before, even if he'd never been caught on the wrong side of it. "Putting those Pokémon to work like that won't work. If the government thinks they're dangerous for attacking people, you wouldn't do that. If that goes wrong, we're back in the pre-region days of Pokémon rampages."

"So, if that's not the solution to this problem, what could be?"

The question Brawly posed was not one Norman could answer, or even understand fully, but the Dewford native would say no more on the topic, instead opening the door and challenging him to a spar the moment they were out of it.

The mood whiplash was extreme, but he was able to keep his wits about him well enough to win, three to two.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Outside, winds howled, and only closing two sets of doors on either side had made it so that the storm raging didn't come through to the rooms that they were squatting in. Even so, Max could faintly hear the sharp sound of wind funnelling into a narrow path if he paid attention to it. There had been some rain, too, but none right now, or Danny would be here instead of outside, enjoying the stormy weather.

Maybe that meant Reginald was going to return late tonight. The Gym Leader had left them two days beforehand with plenty of food and water – and gardevoir and Danny could get more anyway if needed – and he said he'd aim to be back by tonight, but that he wasn't going to fly in the worst of the storm. He hadn't shared where he was going, or even what he was doing, but gardevoir had filled that gap.

And that Danny would go wherever Max would. There was more to that; he'd been able to tell that easily, but he was long familiar with his best friend's protective instincts. Guesswork was good enough.

But before he could go anywhere, he needed to bloody recover first. He knew it was better than before, only needing the help of the walking stick for the first minutes after waking up because his muscles locked up overnight. Lifting things was okay again, even if his full pack was too much for him. He'd even gotten permission to go places on his own again, though he suspected that Danny knew he wouldn't in this weather regardless.

They really knew each other too well.

Still, though, the longer the day went, the more things ached as he tried to keep busy by walking around, helping some of his Pokémon with practising attacks, and the like. It was normal, he knew, but that didn't mean it wasn't annoying as hell.

And okay, he had kind of pushed himself a bit too far the night before when gardevoir had carefully extracted Danny's Key Stone before testing if they could replicate the Mega Evolution.

He'd barely made it to his sleeping bag in time. At least his sleep had been dreamless, unlike the annoyingly common nightmares that had popped up. They were ones he'd had before, of friends and family captured, but now tortured as well.

"You want to try again tonight?" Max asked, tapping his belt to release the green-and-white Pokémon.

" _How are you feeling?"_ gardevoir asked in return, but the expected momentary split vision didn't happen. _"Risking your recovery is not something I wish to do."_

He couldn't lie. Not to a mind-reading Pokémon. "Maybe not the best. 'slike I'm a few days back now."

" _Then we'll not do it,"_ the Psychic-type declared with finality. _"Your health is important."_

"And you want me along for the vengeance you want to take, and I need to be in good shape for that." That evoked some surprise, palpable because they were basically right next to each other. "I remembered the exact thing I felt the moment you Mega Evolved this morning."

" _I see."_ The silence stretched for a bit. _"I need to tell you something."_

That boded ill. "Yeah?"

" _Remember when we met again, nine moon cycl… nine months ago?"_ gardevoir asked, lowering the volume, but still making himself perfectly understood. One advantage of telepathic communication. _"You never asked why I wished to join you."_

Oh, that. "Kind of guessed that one. You saw the place where your brother died, and..." he said, stopping because the following words sounded really awkward even without saying them. They hadn't then, but they sure did now. "Eh..."

" _Because you felt I sought a connection to my brother,"_ gardevoir finished for him regardless, causing a blush to threaten to pop up, but a calming arm soothed it away. _"This was certainly part of it. Yet, it wasn't everything, or even the most important reason."_

"Vengeance, isn't it?" Max asked softly when silence prompted him. "You want vengeance for him."

" _Yes. I will not lie and say that the time we spent together didn't affect this, but… The thing I still want most is for those responsible to_ hurt." An ineffable flash of what gardevoir wanted to do burned for a moment. _"Are you… Are you okay with that?"_

Was he? "I shouldn't be, but… Well..." He waved vaguely in the direction of his sleeping bag, intending the walking stick. "You felt what I felt when you rescued me. We were of one mind, nearly literally."

" _You were in pain and addled, only remaining upright through sheer force of will. I wasn't certain..."_

"If you weren't influencing me," Max finished easily. "Maybe? I was pretty out of it. But you know what I think of when manectric Mega Evolves. Isn't this kinda similar, somewhere?"

" _I suppose…"_ gardevoir replied, but there was clearly more to it. About a minute passed. _"Did you think we were going to rescue you?"_

"Hope, yes. Think…" A deep sigh. "I dared not." That clearly surprised the Pokémon opposite. "I figured out it was your mother, remember. She's capable of reading my mind. I could try to misdirect, but… You saw how weak I was."

" _And yet you hoped? Was this an effect of..."_

"Wasn't in the best state of mind. It doesn't make sense _now_ , but back then? Sure. The brain's weird like that." He shook his head. "Still don't understand why she didn't."

" _Perhaps… Perhaps she could not?"_ gardevoir ventured. _"If she is under the control of that… thing on her arm, then her mental strength could be diminished."_

"How so?"

" _The will is important when dealing with another's mind. You trust me to do the right thing whenever I read your mind for information, and so it is easy. You resist whenever we practised that, and for less result, I had to exert more effort. Reading the mind of a stranger would be harder still, because instinct orders them to fight me."_ Red eyes fixed on Max's. _"And we both know that making someone less willing to fight affects power."_

Despite the situation, a chuckle escaped his lips. The time gardevoir was referring to was a spar with Ash. A friendly one, but one in which Ash's first Grass-type had used Sweet Scent to literally lull the Psychic-type into a mellow mood before slamming him with a Solar Beam.

Gardevoir hadn't fallen for that twice, but it was a nice reminder of the power of distraction and misdirection.

"So how's that work with your mother?"

" _It's only a guess, but I cannot think of another reason for her to not do it."_

The mood shifted, but the Pokémon remained silent, prompting Max to break it instead. "What's on your mind now?"

" _What if… What if she doesn't recover? Controlling by force such as that… For who knows how long..."_

There was anguish in the voice, but Max could understand it. His mind flashed back to the state kirlia had been in, after being subjected to that machine for months, and their mother had been captured for longer by their best guesses. "We'll get her back."

" _And if we cannot?"_

To that, he had no easy answer.

 **~~§~~§~~**

It had been two and a half weeks since he had last left Mt. Pyre, and honestly, it was becoming stifling to remain there. With every day that passed, the urge to go out and leave rose, but others didn't agree.

Reginald wanted both of them to go back to Kanto, but his errands – trying to drum up support for resisting the government, as best Max had over heard – took him away often. Danny was okay with going around in Hoenn, but he wanted to have a few more days of recovery, fearful of a relapse.

It'd be okay if the date wasn't continuously being pushed back, albeit slower than the actual passage of time.

The dilemma was why he'd gone into the fresh air atop the mountain, just to clear his mind while Danny and gardevoir were off getting some more supplies on their twice-weekly run. It'd take them an hour more to get back, because they had to cover their tracks well, what with Psychic-types being illegal to possess in the region right now.

Psychic-types. Illegal. Bloody disgrace.

He shook his head, ignoring the regular feeling in his head of a couple of nearby Ghosts. They didn't feel powerful, and in daylight, they were probably more scared of him than he of them anyway. Vulpix being out also helped with that, probably.

"What do you think we should do, vulpix?" Max asked the small fox-like Pokémon as she sat upright, enjoying a bit of early autumn sun. "Stay or go?"

" _You made that choice long ago,"_ came a voice that tickled the memory, and Max stood up in a flash, only to be casually struck dumb by a golden-white blaze in his mind. He tried to muster the strength to break free, but it was strong and…

Letting him off without anything? The blaze receded, but a pair of ninetales appeared in front of again-working eyes.

No. Not _a_ pair. _The_ pair. The ninetales that he'd seen before. The ones who had caught him vulpix, just about two years ago. The ones who had tried to trick him with an illusion, freezing Danny in the process.

The ones who had spoken of plots and plans. Of abominations forcing Ghost-types. Of that he would do something. Do what? "Eh… What?"

" _Choice is illusory,"_ the second one – male – spoke. He sat down, thirty feet away, several tails moving calmly, but without any hint of power. _"You fight, regardless the odds. You fight, regardless the location. You fight, to protect."_

The words took Max aback, and back slightly over a year ago, when the desire to stop Lysandre and protect his friends, Kalos, and the world had triggered manectric's Mega Evolution for the first time.

" _You were brave, to face Death, but braver still to go alone into the unknown, knowing what could await,"_ the female of the pair spoke up, and Max suddenly found her near him. One tail rubbed under his chin, and he froze at the contact. _"As you did then, so you must now."_

"Doing… What?"

" _Leave. Alone. Go to where it started."_

"I'm not leaving alone!"

" _You wish to stay with your friend, do you not?"_ the female ninetales said softly, almost hypnotically. _"There is strength in friendship, yet… What would he do, if you found those responsible? Would he stand aside, or..."_

Unbidden, a comment from Danny from a week and a bit back came to mind. _"The Mega Evolution was a bit scary, not going to lie. It was a lot of rage,"_ he had said, after discussing how gardevoir had gone through several opposing Pokémon without breaking a sweat. It had only been an offhand remark, or so Max thought, but… Was there more to it?

"He wouldn't stop me."

" _Why not leave? You are fit. Yet he delays. He doubts, he doubts."_ The white-gold fox rose, suddenly flanking Max on the other side, exuding heat as he sniffed. _"You fear for him."_

" _And rightly so,"_ came from his left as two tails wrapped around his arm, soft, comforting. _"But… Is it capture you fear for him, or is it something else? The_ enticing _rush of anger and vengeance, striking down abominations wherever it goes, until..."_

A flash, and Max was in an illusion. A wrecked street, buildings blown open, doors strewn across pavement, in the grey of winter. A piercing bolt of pink-blue shot across from the left, followed by blinding yellow-white, and vision shifted to reveal Max, Mega gardevoir, and manectric. All were battered, and a rough scratch bled lightly on his illusionary cheek as he moved to avoid a Dark streak before the Pokémon moved as one to annihilate the unseen attacker, almost gleefully.

The strike destroyed the front of a building on the street corner, and it was load-bearing. With a rumble, the stone came down, shifting to the other street, as did vision.

And Max saw a tall teenager – with electric blue hair – shout for help, but his Pokémon didn't appear in time, and he was buried under the rubble, along with a brown Pokémon who wasn't fast enough.

Danny and diggersby.

" _You travelled together, until the endless road took you to a seat of power under siege. He ceded his Key to aid you in the time of dire emergency, but in the fighting, you were separated. He followed the rage you exuded, and paid for it. As for you..."_ The vision shifted once more _,_ to a still of a slightly older Max up close, eyes were fixed on the other side of the street, and not on the pile of debris. _"He was reticent in letting you practice, and in doing so, he let rage master you. A_ fatal _flaw."_

The illusion ended, and Max staggered, but the ninetales buffered him. "I… I convince him that I have to practice. That'd do it, right?"

" _Would you be able to? He is rightly afraid. He, who is far more changed by his bond than you. He will extrapolate. He will fear. And he will decline. And yet… Should you leave alone..."_

A flash, of a different, but still rubbished, street, and two teenagers standing still, one taller than the other. The taller – Danny – was clearly telling the shorter – Max – off in a lull in fighting, and Pokémon around them watched with amusement. A second flash, and a heartfelt embrace so powerful it caused a pang even while still.

" _The path is clear. Take it. Leave to where it began. And take the Key."_

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _Pokédex entry:_ _ninetales, regular_

 _Characteristics:_ _vulpine_ _,_ _mystical, long-lived_ _,_ _Fire_ _-type. Avg. height:_ _3'11'',_ _Avg. weight:_ _45_ _lbs._

 _Detailed information: Ninetales combine intelligence with a potentially vengeful attitude. Though the common tale of a lifelong curse befalling those who grab one of its tails unbidden is not true, doing so will land you in trouble with one regardless, as these tails are both extremely sensitive and highly suited to channel the Ghost-type energies that this species is known for through. Their lifespan is on the extreme high end, with an upper limit unknown. However, most ninetales will follow their Trainer when that time comes._


	41. The Fire Within

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 40: The Fire Within**

Most people knew New Mauville existed. An underground electrical power plant, used to bring electricity to the region's largest city and large areas of its surroundings. Risky, some called it, for what if an earthquake should strike in force.

A lower amount of people realised that the rock that Mauville stood upon was good to build on and in for earthquakes, though should you ask a direct question or ask them to think things through, they could come up with the logic that led there.

Very few people realised that New Mauville wasn't the only underground area that the city had.

Several hundred feet underneath the city, a small complex of caves existed. It had no real exit to the outside, excepting a long tunnel that eventually led north-west to a cliff in the desert. There was no water; the air inside was stuffy…

And there was a rudimentary elevator that led straight to the First Minister's residence that had been built atop it around two hundred years ago.

This was no coincidence. Santi's predecessor; a long-reigning man in the era of when landed lords were still influential beyond belief, had found something there. Something that had changed the balance of power in the ages before Pokémon had been fully domesticated.

Through means lost to time, or perhaps to careful eliding of history, the man had enslaved one set of the Legendary Golems to the power of the First Minister. And with them, he had united the region, bringing the loosely independent islands and the area around Lilycove into the fold.

Santi cared not about how it had been done, but, he reflected as he sent out three Pokémon, he appreciated it dearly.

Legendary Pokémon were powerful as a rule, and these were no different. They required no sustenance and little care, and though they lacked the advantage of being properly trained, these three weren't the only ones at his disposal.

A closer predecessor, after pokéballs had become available, had captured the _other_ set of Legendary Golems that Hoenn possessed, in the process also sinking an island and killing the regigigas that had been housed there.

The problem, Santi mused, was that though Hoenn had all of these tools, they hadn't been used. People wondered why the region that was known for having discovered regirock, registeel, and regigigas – Sinnoh had been the one to discover regice – in ages past had now no known sightings of them, but that was it.

Power was useless if you refused to use it. Pokémon sitting idly were the same.

He knew a storm was coming. He counted on it. The accursed G-men would not leave him and his alone, not after the fortuitous finding of the boy and the slightly more zealous choice to interrogate. They would seek to stir up trouble, likely involving some measure of public outcry and protests. They would congregate on Mauville, because that was where one protested a sitting government.

And then the hammer would fall.

There would be death. There would be destruction. But from the ashes, a new Hoenn would arise. A Hoenn unafraid. A Hoenn willing to do what had to be done.

A Hoenn purified in fire.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Knowing that he had to do it and hiding his plans from Danny stung, Max found in the day and a half following the revelations on top of the mountain. It was easier than expected to pull the wool over his best friend's eyes, too. There had been a question what Max was doing, restocking his pack, but a little white lie about wanting to get it right and a bit of truth about wanting to leave soon made the older teenager accept it.

Trust. Danny trusted him. He was about to shatter it into a billion pieces.

" _Have to do it, keep him safe,"_ echoed through his mind, sounding eerily like his actual voice, and not his inner one, and Max looked up from his seated position near the exit to the upper slopes. Gardevoir approached. _"You keep repeating that mantra, Max. Do you not believe it?"_

He hesitated to answer, but then realisation dawned. If the Pokémon posed the question, it meant that nobody else was nearby. "I do, up here," he replied softly, tapping his temple. "But down here..."

" _The curse of caring too much, my mother once called it,"_ gardevoir replied, sitting down next to him. The slight hitch in the mental voice went unmentioned. _"We are rather prone to that."_

"I know… It..." he said, clamming up because he couldn't find the words, until he could. "Did… Did your brother's death… somehow cause this? Same way that I… sense stuff."

Silence stretched for a spell as the Pokémon clearly thought it over. _"It is possible, perhaps, but this is beyond me."_ He took hold of Max's hand, sending pure comfort through it and up his arm. _"Does it matter if it did? Would it change anything?"_

"Maybe?"

" _I doubt it,"_ gardevoir replied with certainty. _"Not to a great degree. After all, should that not have happened, odds are that you and my brother would have travelled together."_ A pause, and Max heard footsteps. _"And you would have been so close that our alignment at your rescue would have been the rule, and not the exception."_ There was a slight shift in the air, somehow. _"Do you not agree?"_

"With what?" Danny asked as he appeared around the corner, taking the random question in stride. Max suppressed the uncomfortable feeling at seeing his friend. "Going to need context."

" _That the bond between Max and my brother, should they have travelled together, would be unbreakable."_

The older teenager barely held in a snort as he sat down, Max could tell. "No need to convince me. You two are already thick as thieves, and ralts would've had nearly two years on that."

It wasn't entirely what gardevoir had meant, Max felt, but it was one of those little lies about talking that everyone did anyway. Probably. "Did Reginald come back or something that you're here?"

"Nah. Was wondering if you'd fallen asleep or something."

Wait, what? "Why?"

Danny gave him a strange look. "You had a pretty harsh nightmare last night. Woke me up with the tossing. You don't remember?"

He had felt a little like his sleep hadn't been _great_ , but he'd chalked it up to other factors. "No… Guess that's better than normal?"

"Only a tiny bit, and that we're talking about normal is bad in the first place. That's the third in seven days."

"I know… Blame my brain." He half-turned to his Pokémon. "You sure you don't know anything to help me with that?"

A sense of fond exasperation mixed with something he couldn't identify wafted over. _"Only using Hypnosis to force you asleep, and I neither know that nor would I like to use it in that way regularly."_

"Yeah, dreams help you cope with life. Nightmares are sort of the flip side to that," Danny stated softly. "Guess this place isn't helping you either. You weren't that glad to come here last time, and it _is_ pretty gloomy." He glanced around at the unlit torches, not needed because the door outside was open and there was plenty of sunlight that made the slopes pretty uncomfortable. "We'll be out of here soon enough."

"When's that?"

"Couple of days if the weather's right." Max gave what he hoped was a disbelieving look. "Calm ahead of the storm. I'd rather not get pneumonia from being out in the rain, and it's going to be coming down hard according to the forecast.

The day before, Danny had been okay with leaving the day after tomorrow, and this was another delay… One that wasn't really relevant anyway: Max remembered at least three caves nearby enough that they could go to, so they could just get started on everything.

What did the ninetales know?

 **~~§~~§~~**

They met in an out of the way tea shop, somewhere in an area of Slateport May had vague memories of visiting the first time she was here four and a half years ago. The Grand Festival was miles to the south, as was the beach, and the main road north to Mauville was to the east. This area was, as far as she could tell, pretty much residential houses only – a bit below the area her parents lived in – but apparently, there was this random tea shop right next to a small grocers and a place that sold lamps.

Why had Drew told her to go here after she'd asked if they could talk in person? She'd been to his home before, and he'd just told Nurse Joy about it – not even calling her.

Though, being fair, she'd been in bed by eight last night. The boat to Slateport had had some trouble with a thankfully group of wild gyarados, and she'd been deputised to help protect the ferry alongside some others. It had made for little sleep and uneasy sleep when she had been able to catch a few moments.

May entered a… Frankly cosy shop. The traditional folding screens were done tastefully, with art of Pokémon and their elemental types on them. A couple of sturdy vases lined the sides of the path, with well-trimmed plants in them – ones she remembered seeing over at Drew's house. One of the employees appeared out of nowhere, and with a soft word, told the Coordinator to follow her.

Drew was already waiting behind the Grass-type folding screens, a _lot_ of tea blends and a pot with steam coming out of it on the table already. He turned around, and he looked _terrible._

Or, well, he _was_ a former Coordinator and he generally took care of himself, but right now, he looked like your average young adult on the street. That was pretty bad for him. "Morning May. Sorry to drop the location change on you, but… It's been an evening and a night."

"What happened?" she asked as she sat down, getting a closer look at one of her best friends. He just looked… Tired.

"Somehow, the water pipes burst in our basement, and the fertiliser I kept there mixed with the water," he replied, not adding water to his empty cup yet. "We were out for a family dinner and got home to the worst smell you can imagine, and of course, water everywhere." He scowled for a moment. "We don't own a Water-type, and nobody in the neighbourhood had one that would be useful either, so I had to ask help from Nurse Joy."

"She didn't tell me that," May replied. "Guess you didn't know how long it was going to take, so that's why we're here."

"Right in one," he said, giving her a pretty diminished version of the smile she liked to see – except when they'd been on the opposite ends of the arena. "Turns out, that was done by about two in the morning, but the smell lingers, so… I'm glad that we're here."

"You work with the stuff."

"Outside, or in well-ventilated and large greenhouses. Not in a basement about ten feet by ten feet," the university student pointed out drily. "Roserade put in a lot of Aromatherapy and Sweet Scent this morning. I still smelled the fertiliser underneath it." He sighed. "What got you asleep by nine thirty?"

"Half a dozen gyarados and a ferry." She gave a quick overview of her night before the last one as Drew poured both of them some hot water. He also pushed her favourite blend towards her, but… She wasn't feeling the twig tea today. "Think I'll go for something stronger today." She glanced around. "Can we talk about private stuff here?"

"As long as we speak softly," Drew replied, lowering his voice a bit, but still well above whispering. "What's this about, then?"

In response, May took a newspaper clipping from a pocket. It was about the thing she'd seen on Izabe. The story that was _so_ different in a way that she hadn't even seen until her brother and his friend had forced her to leave. It had raised so many questions and Drew was the only person she could trust to talk about this.

Except her parents, but like hell she was telling them that she'd seen Max.

Drew was waiting for her to explain. "I saw that happen," she started. "Except… That story isn't even half the truth. I… Will you promise to not interrupt me?"

"Of course."

That was a relief, and May started explaining everything. From the sight of dragons attacking and gardevoir obliterating the house, via the interrogation and the mind-reading, to the state that Max was in and the eventual confrontation. By the time she had finished, her drink was just the right temperature, and she gulped everything down in one go, and _fuck_ propriety on that tea should be enjoyed while at a tea shop.

"That's a lot to unpack," Drew observed, but he hadn't looked as calm as he'd made the words sound. He'd winced multiple times, in fact. "So, first question… Why would they keep it silent that there's a gardevoir wrecking stuff? Rayquaza knows the government dislikes Psychic-types enough as-is."

That was literally the only question that May had been able to figure out an answer to. Somewhat. "Gardevoir are known to protect, right? Like, it's in their Pokédex entries and all?" The older teenager nodded slowly. "So if you say there's a gardevoir there, you might get questions about what you did."

"Because they'd assume there's more to it? Maybe." He didn't sound convinced. "And I'm sorry your reunion with your brother was so bad, but… I think you went about it wrong."

"What?"

"Your brother, by your own words, was rescued from a week of torture. By one of our politicians," Drew added, and he looked like he wanted to not believe that. "Then you talk to him, about two things that are _clearly_ very important to him and that he's flat wrong on that." A shake of the head. "Look, May. Your brother needed, needs, careful nurturing and healing, not just dumping water and fertiliser and calling it a day. I know you just wanted him back – it's written all over you, don't lie – but you might have only succeeded in pushing him away further." He grabbed her hand suddenly, but tenderly. "Don't forget. He's a teenage boy. They are _not_ known for being rational all the time. Or at all."

They sat in silence for a moment, breaking apart with a start when the screens opened, but it was only the employee checking in, and after seeing that no refill or refreshment was needed, she left again.

"I really blew it, huh."

"Probably. Not sure if there's a… Oh… Oh no."

"What?"

In response, Drew stood up and walked around the table before bending slightly, his breath on her ear. "If you were your brother," he whispered. "Wouldn't you want revenge on the one who tortured you?"

 _Fuck._

 **~~§~~§~~**

The first thing Danny heard when waking up was an insistent wind whistling around the closed door. It struggled to get through to his brain for a second, and he vaguely realised that the wind must have been just right and strong to get right up there, a couple of doors into the mountain.

He stretched lazily, opening his eyes and finding them slightly bleary still. He closed them, putting his hands on cool stone to make sure he didn't drift off again. There wasn't any slow breathing from Max nearby, on the other side of a pillar, but that just meant he'd woken up after his best friend. It happened, and it _had_ been like one in the morning before he'd felt sleepy enough to actually fall asleep. Weird, because he'd been up at pretty much dawn, but stranger stuff had happened, and it had been pretty cool to watch the weather turn worse as the night went on.

He laid there for probably about five minutes before deciding he should really get out of his sleeping bag and do something. He did want to groom houndoom's fur today, which he hadn't done since he'd been in Kanto, and swampert could do with a rubdown too. It wasn't as effective as hosing him down, but few things were.

His pack was a mess. Something to do today, he swore to himself after finding most of his socks out of their convenient smaller bag and amongst his share of camping supplies. His Key Stone necklace was missing as well, but Max had taken it the night before to practice the Mega Evolution. It hadn't worked, and his friend had probably forgotten to put it back while trying to not fall asleep on his feet.

It happened. Danny just hoped that they could find a happy medium to trigger the process instead of the bottomless rage that had been the previous cause, and also to do it without gardevoir getting in his Trainer's head to cheat the mechanism.

There wasn't always time and in official battles, that probably wouldn't work anyway thanks to the shields.

Strangely, Max's sleeping bag had vanished, but then again, he could be airing it out. Danny needed to do that to his own, and with the wind around, it'd probably be done pretty fast. Good timing, just ahead of leaving, which he really wanted to do after the storm had passed by in two days or so. Max was getting antsy about it, and honestly, it was about time too. They had things to do in Hoenn. He'd tell Reginald if he came by, or Phoebe maybe, but if they didn't… He wasn't above leaving and just sticking a note somewhere. He still remembered the cipher, too.

To his surprise, Max also wasn't near the upper exit, which was the younger boy's preferred spot. A bit strange, but that only left him downstairs at the entrance, Danny figured as he strung rope from one end of the room to the other. A tap brought houndoom out, and she gave him the lightest of exasperated looks as the humidity settled in on her. "Can you go find Max downstairs? See if he's not asleep over a memorial or something."

Just because he hadn't woken up from his best friend having a nightmare didn't mean there hadn't been some – most of them came in the pre-dawn hours, not early in the night, and they were pretty common as of late. It _was_ taking a toll, not that the younger teenager was ever going to admit that before he'd be found bone tired or something.

Being kidnapped and tortured had, unsurprisingly, left a mark. It wasn't really obvious, but to someone who'd known him that long, and who was looking, it stood out. Max was just a tiny bit more short-tempered – and Danny privately suspected gardevoir probably grounded most of that by just being himself, meaning it could've been a lot worse – and more closed-off. Between that and the nightmares, it wasn't a surprise that Max wanted to go, if only to have easier ways to just tire himself out so he didn't dream.

Tiring out worked, but Danny suspected that the second failed Mega Evolution attempt no longer took as much out of Max as his friend probably hoped it would, if he was using it as a way to fall asleep. Logical at some level – they _were_ growing up and all that, and they'd had a year of experience of Mega Evolving to boot – but this was a side-effect.

With the sleeping bag secured, Danny went downstairs again, hoping that he wasn't making a mistake by leaving it that close to the open storm.

He met houndoom halfway, and the way she bounded to him had him on instant alert. "What is it, girl? Where's Max?"

At the mention of the name, houndoom howled mournfully, before shaking her head slowly.

A sinking feeling overtook Danny, and he broke into a run to the entrance.

No Max.

He started methodically searching the rooms, ordering froslass and houndoom to do the same to cover more ground faster.

No Max.

He asked froslass to head out into the storm, to see if the younger teen was somehow _idiotically_ stuck on the mountain or something.

No. Max.

The pack was gone as well; nowhere to be seen with Max's half of the camping supplies. They'd always split that roughly the same; the only big difference being that Danny had most of the pans because he was the stronger of the two. On a hurry, he went back to his own pack, and found…

Two pans fewer than he thought he'd find. And paper.

A note. Of what had been done, but not of why it had been done beyond vague and empty words.

"Stay safe, Max..." he uttered after he'd read the words three times. "Jirachi watch over you."

 **~~§~~§~~**

He was sitting in a dim room when houndoom – who would _not_ leave his side to the point of him having to threaten to return her so he could pee alone – suddenly got up from her comforting position right next to him. She adopted a threatening posture, a low growl echoing in the hall, and vague redness radiated out from her.

"I mean no harm," came a vaguely familiar voice. The intonation was just a bit strange, but who it was… Danny had no idea. "Is entrance allowed, preferably without involuntary flambéing of me?"

Okay, that was strange. Houndoom didn't make _that_ much sound, and he put a hand on the back of her head to tell her it was okay. She turned it, shooting a thin lance of flame in the direction of two torches on the walls. They burned anaemically, but they burned, providing a bit of light.

Sidney walked in, hands far from his side to look non-threatening. Danny wasn't fooled for a second, and he'd eat a hat if half the Dark-type Master's Pokémon weren't ready to erupt at a moment's notice. Still, Reginald _had_ said that he was on the level, and after a small push with the bottom of his palm, houndoom stood down. "Well trained, albeit one you did not possess in Kalos, and not evolved in Johto. An older wild specimen?"

"About four years old, got in a hard fight with a stantler before we found her. Evolved against Anabel. Why..." he stopped suddenly, biting down on his demand. You didn't do that to someone like Sidney. "What brings you here?"

"Starting out on a trip around Hoenn. Been a while since I last _properly_ went around, 'stead of taking tropius or some other Pokémon everywhere. So I thought to myself: 'Sidney, you need to find yourself company.'" The member of the Elite Four gave his trademark lopsided grin. "Looking for people to keep me young; a duo of young whippersnappers. Know someone?"

The levity failed to amuse Danny. "Max is gone." He produced the note from his pocket, and when he looked up again, he saw Sidney frown. "Read this." That was done in silence, and the teenager waited patiently for any verdict.

The whispered words surprised him. "He… They couldn't have. Could they?" Then, to him. "Did Max venture up the mountain?"

"Probably? Didn't always stick right next to him once he was healed… Why?"

The note was crumpled up. "Because this mountain is home to Pokémon of legends and myths; creatures revered and feared in these areas. And this is something they would do."

"Wha?"

"He wrote little, but that he _had to_ leave, that it was _better for both_ of you. These words do not sound like what I know of your friend."

That had bugged Danny as well, but Max had a habit of bottling things up, so he had just assumed it was something to do with that. Now, though, after Sidney had mentioned it… "You think the ninetales are responsible?"

"I do not know, but I do suspect. Which Pokémon are with you?"

Danny listed them quickly. "Why? And why do you suspect?"

"Legends and myths suggest that the ninetales on this very mountain ask boons of those who would carry them out, willingly," Sidney replied darkly. "However, being as they are, trickery is in their blood; their very existence tailored towards deceit and subterfuge. They asked something of him, did they not, when the vulpix was made to join?"

"Yes?" Danny said, casting his memory back. "Yeah, they did. Something about purifying and stopping abominations?" He shook his head. "Should know this better."

"Perhaps. But if my full suspicions are right, then this is already enough for us to act." A shift of movement, and the casual Sidney was fully gone; in its place the deadly serious and underhanded Dark-type Master of Hoenn. "Keep houndoom out. Once we engage, use aggron and her to defend us, and exploud and swampert to join in with my attacks. Do not, under any circumstance, send out your Ghost-types."

They moved. "That's a lot for two Fire-types."

"It won't be two Fire-types. They likely command the loyalty of Ghost-types; being as linked to this place as they are on top of their mystical powers granted to them by their evolution." A hand went into his pocket, bringing out a small bottle. "Persim extract. One mouthful and adequate movement should suffice to blunt confusion."

The rain had stopped, but the ground was muddy and the wind was unrelenting, instantly making Danny wish he'd brought boots and his coat. A thousand questions ran through his head, and he intended to ask all of them of Sidney.

But first, the ninetales had to be dealt with.

The Fire-types appeared out of apparent nowhere after a minute of walking, but there was a slight shimmer behind them that faded out a moment later. Had they been hiding behind an illusion? _"Master of the Dark, we welcome you,"_ the female fox greeted, mental voice palpably warm.

"Cut the pleasantries; we know what you have done. You lied and deceived; playing with a life not your own to carry out that which you cannot, away from your seat of power," Sidney replied coolly, and three Pokémon appeared in front of him: an umbreon as black as night; a honchkrow that immediately took flight; a bisharp with blades gleaming in the limited light. "This stops tonight."

" _He was chosen. He is willing. He_ will _purify,"_ the male ninetales said, not as calm as his counterpart as aggron appeared on the mountain. _"You will not stop this. Our influence reaches."_

To Danny's surprise, Sidney laughed. Short, and bitter, but still. "I have neither inclination nor reason to do so. Nor will you have either to play with lives or unlives not your own after tonight."

" _So be it."_

With that, the mountain's flanks lit up in flame, as twin Flamethrowers were sent straight at them. Protect – aggron, umbreon – and physical interception – houndoom – blunted all of it except the heat that was too high to be welcoming, and then the offensive was joined.

Umbreon and honchkrow shot forwards, as did exploud after Danny had called him forth. A pair of Hyper Voices and a Dark Pulse shot forth, impacting on a sudden mass of Ghostly energy that had surged into the way, falling apart into several duskulls that had acted as a living shield for the ninetales, who retaliated with a fiercely powerful Fire Spin, glowing with unnatural light.

Cursed flame disrupted it, at the cost of causing a shock wave that flash-fried grass and nearly feet.

Behind him, Danny heard and felt static build up, and he turned around just in time to see a rotom being shot down by a fourth Pokémon of Sidney's – an unmoving sableye using Power Gem – but even as the Electric-type fell, two more Pokémon took its place: gastly both.

They, too, were easily dealt with after bisharp gave them a taste of their own Ghostly medicine.

Embers flew to the right; the sound of Ice hitting grass grew loud before a roar of fire temporarily deafened all involved, but a flash of green kept everyone safe and unharmed as a horde of Ghost-types flew in from the edge, presumably having been summoned.

"Hydreigon!"

Sidney's fifth Pokémon joined in, and in an instant, the mountain lit up green as a massive Dragon Pulse – the kind of attack that would serve as manectric's most powerful shot while Mega Evolved – completely took out a mass of Ghosts that had been swarming up the mountain. Danny turned to the Dark-type Trainer, and their eyes met.

He was smiling; the smile of a mad man in his element. "Head in. All on the foxes."

Aggron stayed back, too slow to fight the kind of mobile fight that was going on up the mountain, where three foxes jumped from rock to grass to rock; where a flying Pokémon sought to intercept, and where exploud and swampert were coating the area in ice, reducing the places that the ninetales could go.

The umbreon held its own well, despite being hit multiple times by whatever the Fire-types summoned to get it away from them. Fire, Shadow Balls, Confuse Rays, even an Iron Tail infused with flame. It didn't engage in offence except to stay near and threaten, rings glowing threateningly to secrete a deadly poison should it find the time, though it never did.

A crossfire of Dark Pulses and Ice Beams connected with one of the ninetales, and a howl told Danny exactly which one. The female one, and the male one – who, if he recalled, was the one more emotional – howled in anger, breathing forth a Fire Spin that dwarfed everything Danny had ever seen, except the firestorm that Lance's dragonite had unleashed.

It was easily dealt with between swampert, houndoom, and an Air Slash disrupting the circular forces that held it together.

"Yield," Sidney suddenly demanded, and Danny's eyes shot back to the ninetales to see that one had been frozen from the chest down – and his Pokémon were continuously reapplying it to keep the Fire-type from melting it away – while the bisharp had a blade to the neck of the other. "I was expecting more of a fight."

" _What do you want?"_

"Two things; dissimilar yet related. One: for you to not engage in the behaviour that brought us down on you again. Two: to tell us what you told his friend."

" _And will you let us go?"_

"I will let you live," was the answer, and looking at him, Danny knew that the Elite Four member _would_ carry that threat out. "A deal as fair as can be, akin to yours."

The ninetales acquiesced after just a moment, the female one filling them in on what they had shown Max. It carried the ring of truth, and it was all that Danny could do to not hit himself right there and then for being stupid.

He hadn't known. He hadn't shared. He'd been ignorant.

Ugh.

"No need for that," Sidney said lightly as they moved down the mountain, a few minutes later after promising to get off the mountain. "Perhaps a mistake; perhaps the cleaving of a gap where only minute cracks were. The blame is yours only secondary."

"And Max first?"

"Ninetales first," came the swift correction. "Both of you didn't realise about the other, as is your age cohort's wont. Let it pass through you, and come out stronger."

"But what if..."

"Captured once, shame on them. Captured twice, shame on him," Sidney said after silencing him with a grabbed wrist. "Paranoia will serve your friend. As will relying on himself."

That stunned Danny, and only a gentle tug kept him walking. "We… We're not going after him?"

"The roads to Mauville are myriad. You will meet again, though explanations should wait."

"Why?"

"What we did was seen. I know of a cave to the south-west. We will spend the night, then head elsewhere tomorrow."

"To a Gym Leader?"

"Perhaps, though I had other ideas; shattered as glass hitting stone. It cannot be helped." They entered the memorial site yet again, and houndoom – the only Pokémon left out – loped forward, lighting up every third torch to give them vision. "After all, plans do not survive enemy contact. Let us do so, and be that, to the government and light the fires of rebellion."

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _Last night, Mt. Pyre lit up with Pokémon attacks as the Pokémon of the mountain turned on each other in a spectacular tableau. Fire was reported to be visible from Lilycove, and only the preceding of that by a green glow that is often associated with the Dragon-type dissuaded several eyewitnesses from believing that the mountain had been a volcano all along._

 _Regional police could share nothing of note, saying that aerial surveillance would be carried out in daylight._


	42. The Revealing Light

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

* * *

 **Chapter 41: The Revealing Light**

A wet nose and a careful, hot, lick, were enough to wake Danny from an already light sleep. He opened his eyes, and found that he still couldn't see too much in the darkness of the cave. "Should've taken a torch from Mt. Pyre," he grumbled good-naturedly.

"It is about half an hour past dawn; a time I saw all too often when your age," Sidney said, nearby. "This despite my preference brought on by my circadian rhythm. It appears that you are not like me."

It was too early to think about the stuff he didn't understand, and Danny grabbed a set of socks from his pack before answering. "We rise early. I'm okay with it, Max somehow lives on precious little sleep before catching up once every three or so weeks." He adjusted the sock so the heel was actually on his heel. "Most Trainers do, right?"

"And most of them wish they didn't need to." Sidney appeared from around the corner, leaning against the opposite wall, face barely visible. "We should talk of hiding and travel. We are both recognisable, and our age disparity makes us unlikely partners."

Despite that, there was a vaguely visible grin on the man's face; and it became more visible as he sat down. "You have a plan."

"Always, and several." He leaned forward, hand hovering over Danny's head, but not touching. "How long has it been since you had a haircut? Long enough to change it."

It made sense, and Danny nodded in acceptance, though he had questions. "Would that be safe? They're… After us?"

"You and your friend, yes. But contacts are important, and I have many; a friend in a small town on the northern shore. She will help us," Sidney said with utter surety. "After that, we travel by foot to Fortree. Tropius is visible, and cannot carry us both for long."

That had been noticed the night before. "Okay. Fortree. Why there? Why not try to find Max?"

"His movement can be erratic, ours cannot. Winona can lend us Flying Pokémon, and I am due to meet her regardless for my duty." He quickly explained the administrative leave he'd taken. "And I am known to wander the wilds from time to time. Delays will not be strange, and that is good." He regarded Danny. "We do not pass for family."

"Why?"

"The younger escorting the elder as he seeks to retrace the glory of his youth. A rarity, but plausible enough."

"We can be nephew and uncle," Danny replied, the idea coming into his mind instantly. "I take after… Whichever parent isn't related to you."

"Of course. That's good thinking; worthy of a playwright's son." Sidney clapped a hand on his shoulder. "I'll be Damien, and you..."

"Can I think about that for a moment?" Danny asked, feeling his stomach want to be fed. "I need breakfast."

"You have more than a moment. We will not fly until darkness, half a day from now. The light reveals too much."

 **~~§~~§~~**

Under the cover of darkness, Reginald landed at the Mt. Pyre docks, dismounting salamence in one fluid motion. No swampert or houndoom challenged him, but that was hardly unexpected: the houndoom would prefer to guard inside in the windy weather, and for all he knew, the swampert had noticed in the water, hidden underneath waves and foam.

When he stepped inside, however, something _felt_ wrong. Multiple somethings, even. He didn't know what, but the hair on the back of his neck stood up as he saw no light, nor heard any sound, despite the evening being relatively young.

Instinct, any Trainer worth anything knew, was a powerful force, and dragonair came out in response to his heightened awareness, gliding through the air far more silent than he could walk.

It soon became clear that there was no sign of anyone, and that the teenagers that he'd left there had been gone. At least a day, judging by the state of some fruit peels in a corner, but probably not more than two. Under the cover of the storm, then, aided by the gardevoir that could likely bring them to anywhere in the vicinity.

Given Maple's previous travels and the route across the region the two of them had taken two years back, they had plenty of places that they could have gone to while he had been stuck hiding from the storm himself.

Despite the problem appearing solved, however, his instincts remained convinced that there was more to it. "Search," he told dragonair softly, sending out flygon for personal protection instead. "Remain inside."

It wasn't long before the dragon returned, his bell chiming softly to announce his presence, and held gently in his mouth was a note. One not in cipher, but one that was unintelligible at first glance as well. It appeared to be a random set of letters and symbols, but one in a script that Reginald recognised.

Sidney's.

It took him five minutes to crack the code, so to speak. There wasn't one. It was all initials, shorthand, and the occasional drawing to symbolise something.

 _Max left, ninetales cause. Danny and I fought ninetales. Left south-west, then north._

It was dated the day before, though something told him that Maple would've left before that. Likely in the night, to avoid confrontation with his best friend.

This was worrying. Birch he could likely track down, given what he knew and where Sidney would be headed. The member of the Elite Four would likely keep an eye on the teenager, out of a sense of duty or mercurial amusement, or most probably both. Equally so, he was unlikely to send Birch back to Kanto as Reginald would have done; not without that being asked.

Which was extremely unlikely to occur, given that Birch would want to find Maple. Their bond was that of stories usually only found in the children's section of libraries, and if anyone could find a teenager with a thirst for vengeance and a gardevoir that enabled him to be all over the region, it was the future Professor. As much as male teenagers often lacked insight in anything that wasn't Pokémon battles, food, and ways to either not think or use the wrong parts of their brain to think… The older teen was an exception, mature beyond his years and with a vested interest in wanting his friend around.

Not that it meant too much. Adding two or three years to fourteen still put you firmly in the age of hormone-induced stupidity.

So now he had two teenagers, running around his region, throwing proverbial wrenches in his planning to oust the government by virtue of influential Pokémon Trainers and key other influential persons turning against them. Any impulsive action would likely alienate people he dearly hoped to sway, and any bonus that could get amongst the regular public was irrelevant, given their lack of power to pressure the government when there was no election in the near future.

It was a conundrum, and one that he would need to spend time on to navigate correctly.

Worse, of the ones who knew he was here, Sidney would have been the one to approach for this path. Phoebe disagreed with him, emotionally invested as she was by her own recent past and a nature that was lesser at compartmentalising and stepping back to see the whole picture as he did. This left precious few options available to him. The one G-man who had an inkay's worth of understanding over others was too close to the situation, being the maternal uncle to Maple. Tate and Liza were moving around the region themselves after their meeting, and Juan was far more useful in place, plus the man hadn't been wholly convinced of the plan, even if he had conceded that there was no viable alternative.

He hadn't even been convinced of contacting them in the first place, but with time and thought came clarity and the realisation that he needed as many people involved as possible. These three were natural starts.

All of this left just one realistic option, and that… Would have to wait, he realised as dragonair shot up, orb glowing threatening white as someone approached. Or someones, judging by the multiple footsteps.

Goons. Black-clad, masked, and likely affiliated with the government. The clothing was too similar to what he had seen during the rescue, and moreover, few would go here and move with such swagger. Four of them entered, Pokémon by their sides. "Knew we'd find somethin'," one said, accent betraying an islander heritage. "Four to one, and we're inside so your dragons can't fly. Surrender."

In the name of dialga, palkia, and giratina, if this was the best the government could find, however clandestinely, they deserved to be overthrown like Unova had been. No respect for his achievements, no care in the world, and only one Ice-type amongst them – and that was a weavile. "You were waiting, weren't you?" Reginald said as he straightened out, flygon appearing from where the Ground-type had been hidden around a corner. "Saw something yesterday," he guessed, and the third one from the left confirmed it non-verbally. "I apologise." To the deceased and departed; the past and present, and most emphatically not to the souls opposite. "But I cannot allow you."

The battle was joined in an instant, and ten seconds later, a Hyper Beam tore chips of solid rock off the outer wall.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Rows upon rows of pokéballs, separated from the rest by one empty column of shelves, filled Birch's view. Off to the side, more were being brought in by assistants. The last ones.

"Is this necessary?" one of them asked, and Birch saw it was one of the newer ones. Rebecca was fresh from university. "Wasn't expecting to do this my… second day here."

"Neither was I. Neither was I..." he replied, sighing. "It pains me to do so, but… It must be done."

"The government hasn't told you to do this, right?"

Ah, the naïveté of youth. But if he wouldn't tell her the truth, others would. There were few secrets in the laboratory. "A few nights ago, one of my contacts in the government suggested that they were thinking about legislating the three Types in such a way that would affect us here." They hadn't been certain about the exact form, whether it be a forced lock-up or a confiscation. The former was more likely; the latter not outside of the realm of possibility. "My duty is to the Pokémon, to make sure that they can live their lives as freely as possible. Even if it means breaking up Pokémon teams."

"And Professor Rowan has space for this?"

"He has assured me he has." Likely at an annex somewhere. Route 219 had a few islands that the Sinnoh Professors had occupied over the years. "Even if he would not, he would accept."

"Your duty."

"Our duty as Professors, yes," Birch replied, happy that she understood. It was the most important lesson to be learned: though the regional Professors wielded influence in their region, they were always on the side of the Pokémon. Usually, this aligned with the governments, but not always – as in Unova under Team Plasma, and now here. "The Professors of Unova and Dinos offered aid when Orre had a problem with Team Snagem. Professor Juniper asked Professors Krane and Cassia to help her in return, should Team Plasma have reached to her. Kalos and Prudan have the same agreement. We help each other in times of need."

"Didn't take you for an idealist, Professor."

"It's not for everyone, working here. We look underneath the surface," he replied softly. "A Pokémon mistreated acts out. Pokémon grievously injured, we often receive. More than once, Trainers have called here to tell us that they're releasing Pokémon that are _here."_ Thankfully, that was incredibly rare – one a year for the entire Hoenn region, on average. Sadly, more as of late. "You call it idealism, Rebecca, but it's really just a way to deal with the very small downsides to this amazing job."

"Every light casts some shadow, as history will show," the assistant said, sing-song, before blushing horribly. "Sorry. I… I like to write poetry. I..."

Birch chuckled, and to his surprise, he found that it was meant. "My brother writes plays and directs them. I have lived with random poetry or quotations for two decades. If you like doing that in your soon to be limited free time, then by all means, do so. Though..." he added, mischievously, "you might want to keep it hidden for a while."

"Why is that?"

"Our Yule gift exchange. You mention that this is a hobby, and everyone will ask you for 'inspiration' for poems." As he himself did with Gregory, naturally. "As you said, Rebecca. Every light casts some shadow." He turned back to the shelves. "Let's contact Rowan and get this going. If we're fast enough, we'll be out of here before the sun sets."

 **~~§~~§~~**

"Huh, nice place you got here," Ash's childhood rival said as he moved into the main room, complete with kitchen, trophy cabinet, and pictures of all his Pokémon he had been able to find, individually. "Gonna be honest, Ashy-boy, didn't take ya for someone with a brain on interior decorating."

That caused pikachu to snort, but all of them knew it was only a barb just because. "Mum helped, and my Pokémon were what got me here, so… Makes sense, right?" He dropped into one of the bean bags, and Gary did the same. "Why did you want to talk in person?"

"Thought you should know… Some Pokémon were exchanged this morning." The scientist smirked cockily. "A froslass and a litwick, a poliwhirl and a shelgon. Sound familiar?"

Oh, they did. Pikachu, absol, and bulbasaur – the last one just having walked in from outside – also recognised those, and Ash could feel something leaving him. "So, they're back in Kanto? Travelling aga..."

Gary's expression made him trail off, and he knew the answer before it came. "No. They went to Hoenn Centers. Different ones. Seventy miles apart."

Seventy mil…. What? "Gardevoir can go that far, probably," he replied, but it rang somewhat hollow and everyone there knew it. "I… The hell is going on in Hoenn?"

"Let's step back, look at the facts. They probably rescued Max on the first. He probably wasn't in good shape, because that house had all the marks of being wrecked from the _inside_ ," Gary listed, adding in some information Ash hadn't heard about. Then again, he hadn't followed the news that closely. "So they hide out somewhere. Recovering. Until… A couple of days ago, something happened on Mt. Pyre. Twice in two evenings. Bet that was where they were hiding."

Ash could see that, definitely. Reginald would like it: it was a place that was guaranteed empty, often foggy, and hard to approach without getting seen if it wasn't foggy or dark. And with gardevoir, food was easy to find – something that had always forced him and Karen to stay closer to the towns or lug a lot of supplies around in Unova. Mostly the last. "Okay. But why would they be apart?"

"You're the one who knows them better. You tell me."

It was pretty obvious. "Danny wants to keep Max safe. You know that too, right?" He got a nod back. "No way he'd break them up. Reginald wants them back in Kanto. It _has_ to be Max," he said before sighing. "I just don't know why." There was silence for a minute, and everyone in the room seemed to agree that whatever had caused it, it wasn't a good thing. "I hope they won't get captured."

"And if that happens?" Gary asked. "You'll head over to Hoenn to demand their freedom?"

Ash rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't go there immediately."

"No, you'd go to Lance first. As a courtesy call." Gary scratched his temples. "How'd they convince you to not go the first time?"

"Reginald wanted stealth. I… Don't like that." Misty's words of nearly a year ago sounded in his head. "What did you mean by the house being destroyed from the inside?"

"Some of the pictures don't make sense otherwise, or so they tell me." The brown-haired teen shrugged, nearly falling out of his bean bag in the process. "Given that any rescue attempt would include the gardevoir Teleporting into the room Max was held, it's easy to guess what happened. As I already told you."

"Ya, you did." Another bit of silence. "Can you get a message to them, even if they don't call?"

"Can't put paper in pokéballs. You know that. Can ask one of Max's Pokémon because he'd have the gardevoir. That do?" he asked, and Ash figured it was the best they were going to get. "I… Oh, right." Gary shot out of his bean bag, taking a pen and a small notepad from who knew where. "Ask the poliwhirl about… Right."

"About what?"

"I gave Danny a gardevoirite that his Uncle gave me. Long story," he said, waving a hand. "I guessed that a Mega Evolution could break through whatever they're using to cause the Pokémo… Arceus, I'm an _idiot."_ Before Ash could say anything, Gary walked up to absol, who let him touch the absolite. "I could've tested. Ugh." He turned back. "After the mew in the Tree of Beginning wasn't affected the same way, I theorised that there was an upper limit to the disruptive effect that is causing the Pokémon to rampage all across Hoenn. A Mega Evolution of a sufficiently powerful Pokémon should theoretically be above the threshold."

Following it wasn't as hard as it could've been, and Ash resolved to thank Lance for telling him what had happened in the Tree. Again. "What were they using?"

"Gems. The Unovan ones."

"Aren't those used up pretty fast?" He'd seen them in Unova, but he'd never used them. Karen had used one, but they had split up that time.

"Yeah, but the machines that use Pokémon are big. These aren't. It's a trade-off. Lower power, but portable. Like pikachu normally are," Gary replied, and the smirk was audible. "And they don't send them into a frenzy either, seemingly. Just make sure they can't do anything on the lower settings."

"And on the higher?"

A moment's pause. "That shouldn't cause a rampage," came the hesitant reply. "And it'd only last minutes. It'd burn up the gems fast. Can probably still test that… Just need an abandoned island."

Ash left the scientist to his muttering for a moment, instead standing up himself and going to the shelf behind his sofa, where all the most recent pictures of most of his friends were. The picture of Max and Danny was one from the winter, from the last Indigo Conference, when they'd only recently fled from Hoenn.

The moment that he got a whiff of something going wrong in Hoenn, or if they asked, he'd go. He owed them that much, and it was the right thing to do.

"You're using _that_ one for me?" Gary said, having walked up and for the first time in ages, not sounding like a scientist or someone really cocky. "Ashy-boy? _Why_ is that picture seven years old?"

Pikachu and bulbasaur were losing a battle against laughter, and absol had silently gone out of the room. Ash suspected it wasn't because of some incoming disaster. "Because I don't have a more recent one," he said truthfully, keeping a straight face. For about two seconds after he'd said that. Then, he let out a laugh. "Alright, and I'd hoped to finally get you back. You're always making fun of me, so..."

"Oh, turnaround is fair play. Sure, fine," Gary conceded. "But couldn't you at least have used one where I looked my actual age instead of a ten year old?"

 **~~§~~§~~**

It was October, and the last week had been one of the strangest Danny had ever had. He was travelling, without Max, with a member of the Elite Four, posing as an uncle and a nephew with different names, and that was just where the weirdness started.

Sidney didn't look anything like what he'd been used to, with his mohawk buzzed down to basically nothing. Danny himself was now permanently wearing a hat and had had all the dye washed out of it last week, leaving him with his normal brown hair, and a bit shorter than he was used to at that. It made him look weird, and pretty different.

Which was the point, Sidney and his friend had explained.

And then there were the battles. He was still a Trainer, and that meant he did get challenged. He made sure to stick to shorter battles so people couldn't connect the dots, and his companion helped by supplying him with some medium level Pokémon he'd acquired somewhere – an Alolan raticate and an eevee being two of them – and then there was the talk later on about battles.

Oh, and that one two-on-two at the end of a rainy day that meant they hadn't gone anywhere. It had been completely clear that Sidney had been holding back, and even then, Danny's Pokémon had been trounced handily.

At least that was somewhat normal, and like Max, Sidney was eager to talk about how to improve, also accepting Danny's ideas.

He headed up a rope ladder – a skorupi flashing through his mind momentarily – and at the top, the valley that held a strange rock in the middle.

He and Max hadn't been here before, taking a path through the wilds to cut off the main road back when they'd just started out instead. Electrike, nincada, and gulpin had all been caught on that stretch. The valley was maybe thirty miles west of where they'd been, and back then, that had been a lot of distance – not something they'd want to do when they were both wanting to get to their second Gym.

As he'd said when Sidney had told him about it, three nights ago when the adult had told him they'd be going here… _That_ was the resting place of registeel? This rock, not far from the main part of Route 120, that was just solid rock and where no Rock-types even lived? "It looks so unassuming."

"A place where no grass grows, no Pokémon live, no entrance is present. It has always surprised me that there is a lack of myths about this place," Sidney replied in turn, not even wheezing. Danny wasn't either, but he had been travelling non-stop for… Basically two and a half years, minus some interruptions. "Perhaps the subconscious remembers who sleeps here."

"Have you ever seen it?"

"We are told, no more, of where to enter, as a precaution, should the worst come to pass. Yet none, to my knowledge, have checked since at least the birth of _my_ parents, six decades ago." He looked around, checking for something. "East now." An umbreon appeared. "Confuse any near to leave until we return."

Any discomfort that Danny felt, he suppressed. Umbreon would do it as gently as possible, and they really needed to not be caught. Max had a get-out-of-traps-free Pokémon. They didn't.

Sidney led him to a cliff wall, and, after a moment's searching, a hidden button at shin level. "The entrance. Hold to enter, release to close." A lopsided grin. "A simple mechanism, designed to force separation. But one with a weakness to one of your oldest Pokémon."

"Dusclops," Danny said, sending the Ghost-type out and giving a whispered order.

Half a minute later, she provided light inside with a Will-o-Wisp that flickered in the stuffy air. "From here, I am blind."

Danny nodded, and they slowly proceeded in the dark.

It was deathly silent, causing every single sound they made to be loud by comparison. He could hear the shuffling of a shoe when Sidney didn't raise his foot enough to avoid a small raise in the path; blood rushing in his own ears; the muted steps of dusclops walking ahead of them; the slightly louder shuffling of raticate behind them.

Danny couldn't see much, because of the darkness and Sidney leading ahead of him, but what he saw was all the same: rocky walls – ancient walls – and a path that felt like it went gradually downward. This became clearer as they went on, with the small height difference between the two of them – Danny was the taller by under an inch, at best guess – becoming slightly more pronounced, until it levelled off, and they came to something that looked like a steel door.

Without a word, dusclops phased through, leaving them in darkness for a moment until she opened the door again, letting several larger balls of fire hover overhead in a large hall.

It was empty, and the two of them spread out. Sidney stepped on something that _crack_ ed, and the sharp pang echoed through the room. "That was not wood," the member of the Elite Four said, rattled for the first time that Danny had heard.

It was bone. There wasn't much, but unmistakable white bone was on the floor. Danny saw two and a half skulls before he looked away, breathing heavily as bile rose in his throat.

Dusclops created more lights, and it became clear that the walls weren't as smooth as the ones in the pathway. They were… Marked. Dented. Battle-scarred.

"Something happened here," Sidney said gravely, completely serious for the first time. "These marks… Archaeology is not my strength, but… They look decades old, fresh only because this place is so abandoned. And bones do not break easily either." He put a hand on Danny's shoulder. "Deep breaths."

"I know," Danny said, wishing that he had a Key Stone available to ground himself. He concentrated on the feeling of the bond in his memory, and that dulled the queasiness a bit. "Registeel fought, then."

"These guys sought its power and paid the price. Yet..." He quickly walked away, sending out sableye and barking an order to search for something unusual.

Danny wasn't included, but he did as well, starting to the left of the door they'd entered through. It kept his mind off of… No, he wasn't going there.

He had found only gouges and dents, even after turning the corner, when Sidney's Pokémon let out a cry, and both humans walked over, as did dusclops with some light.

Dots in a panel on the wall. Great amounts of it, too: hundreds probably, in three distinct rows. The first one was decidedly shorter than the other two. "What is this?"

"No clue," Sidney admitted softly, tracing a hand over the top left of it. "But… It's familiar." His other hand joined the examining, and Danny stood back to let the eccentric man do his thing. "T… I… S… Oh. Darkrai, that is not something I was expecting to find."

"What is it?"

"The alphabet for the blind." Sidney stood back, putting his pack down and taking something from it. Something dark, nearly black, but with a small red light. His Pokédex. "Someone carved it into these walls." He manipulated the small device – an older type, with a more robotic voice than the modern ones. "The Pokédex has it stored. Has had from its inception."

"How old is that, then? You said..."

"The alphabet is older than you think," Sidney interjected. "Closer to two centuries than one and a half." He left Danny with his thoughts as he started translating, muttering to himself. It took about five minutes and lots of checking, but eventually, he stepped back. "Those who inherit our will, shine in the midcle."

"Midcle?" That wasn't a word.

"I guess the result of the battle that happened here. It looks and felt stranger in a certain spot. If there were a dot there, the c would become a d. Middle."

That made sense. "And shine?"

"I have a guess." The adult started walking, and everyone else followed. They all headed to the middle. "Closing your eyes might be a good idea. As is dispelling the flames."

"Closing your..." Danny echoed, before realisation dawned. Shine. Light. _Flash._ "Seems too simple."

"Installed before data at the tips of our finger was ever conceived; a defence for a less knowledgeable age." They reached the middle of the room. "Three, two, one."

The Flash was bright enough to pierce through Danny's eyelids, and only after covering his eyes with his hand as well did it dim enough to be comfortable. It lasted for about ten seconds, after which it tapered off, and he risked opening his eyes another ten seconds later.

And he saw an opening in the wall ahead of them, next to where the panel had been. It was easily large enough to fit any Pokémon, and it had just… Come out of nowhere, without a sound. "How on earth..." he said, starting forward, and finding an arm slung across his chest. "Ow!"

"Let sableye scout. If registeel was hidden, then it was asleep. If it was asleep, then waking it up might be perilous to those who awaken it," Sidney replied, and his other hand gestured, alluding to the bones on the floor. "Pokémon are more nimble; this one more than most as well."

It was logical enough, and though it hurt realising it, Danny'd rather a Pokémon invoke the ire of a Legendary. He shoved that into the recesses of his mind, focusing on the steely feeling and a need to stay calm.

Calm was not what sableye was when it returned. They heard it before it came into view, crying out desperately, but not sounding in peril. In fact, it sounded… Distressed?

Danny looked at Sidney, using the light that dusclops had thrown up, and the Dark-type Master had paled, as if realising something very bad. "Come," he said, and they hurried along, breaking into a half-run; something Danny regretted since he still had the pack on his back. He was able to keep up, through the wide and slightly twisting passage into…

A completely empty room, with not a Legendary in sight, nor even any sign of it having been there any time in the last decades.

"It is as I feared. The bones were of fallen conquerors. Expected, without any Pokémon bones or pokéballs, however primitive, and yet I had hoped." The nearly bald man turned to Danny. "Hoenn is in far more danger than we realised."

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _Birch moved all of the Dark, Ghost, and Psychic Pokémon in his possession to Sinnoh, out of our reach. Can we use this somehow to strengthen our case?_


	43. The Plunging Dark

****Disclaimer:**** Pokémon is still owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

 **A/N:** Not a fun chapter, stretching the T-rating pretty far in the last section. If squeamish, consider skipping from someone wiping their cheek onward.

* * *

 **Chapter 42: The Plunging Dark**

The mid-afternoon sun was casting a gentle light across the streets of the small town Max was in. Puddles lined the street from the consistent rain that had fallen overnight, and Max checked his reflection out in a few of them.

What looked back was still a stranger to him.

The glasses? Sure, they were the nearly the same. His second pair had slightly differently coloured rims, but were the same shape. They were a common model, though, and contact lenses… The time to do that wasn't when you were on the run from people who'd literally tortured you. He needed his vision, and trying something new – and learning how to care for those contacts while he was at it – wasn't on his list of ideas to do. Better uses of his time.

The hair, on the other hand… That hairdresser had been so, _so_ , helpful. Max couldn't shake the feeling that she'd recognised him, but she hadn't said anything, instead walking him through the options and how to care for his newly dyed hair and all of that. She'd even set him up with something temporary, sensing his reluctance, even if the lie he'd been prepared to tell of a lost bet wasn't needed.

The result was that his dark blue hair, which had been shortened to just above his ears as well, now had significant red gleams, making it look a dark version of magenta in some puddles, and red-and-blue in others. Different lighting, different looks.

It was a bit cool, too, but Max didn't think he would've done it if he hadn't been trying to think of ways to hide himself. Dyeing had been the second thing on his mind, after a cap as the first. That had lasted until sceptile had pointed out that Max's hair was too long to hide under one. The jump to dyes had been fast after that, as Max had remembered an offhand comment Danny had made, quickly followed by his promise to consider a streak of coloured hair.

That all had been hours after he'd left in the middle of the night, Key Stone and everything in tow.

Uncertainty bubbled up within him as he made it to the store, but as before, Max shoved the feelings out of the way. He'd done what he had needed to do. He was going to the facility, where maybe he'd find answers. The way the ninetales had spoken did make him think there would be some.

It was slow going. Theoretically, he could just get gardevoir to go there, but… Vulpix had been against that, and she'd been – through some translation – convincing enough about not doing that. Psychic-types were forbidden, and if someone saw them, it'd be trouble. Gardevoir had reluctantly agreed, which left Max going about Hoenn on foot, travelling the reverse path of over two years back.

The moment they got in easy teleportation range of the facility, though, gardevoir was taking them there. That was at least a week off from now, and so Max needed to do normal Trainer things, like buy food and more.

Strangely, he'd missed that. Hell, just being outside had been liberating after being stuck on an island for nearly a month.

Phantom pain twinged as he moved through the aisles, carefully taking the things he knew were good and that his Pokémon liked. Store brand sour treats, but branded water filters because they were just better. A big roll of gauze because he'd left the first aid kit with Danny, and that also meant he needed tape…

"Are you injury-prone or something?" a girlish voice suddenly asked from his left. Max nearly jumped literally, but he managed to just turn around to see a teenager like him, so probably a year younger, with frazzled and uneven hair. Possibly an accident: the cut didn't look like it had been done by a hairdresser. "That's a lot of bandages."

"All out," Max replied as he grabbed some smaller bandages blindly, before putting them back and grabbing some that were actually appropriate for a fourteen year old boy. He also tried to calm his heart, because being surprised like that had caused it to start racing. "Didn't think we were, but there you go."

"You didn't need it, right?" the girl said, giving him a look that reminded Max of Brock after some of the more bruising Rocket attacks. "And what you need that much stuff for anyway?"

He wasn't going to get away with vague words, he could tell. Time to lie creatively, then. "We spend a lot of time off-route. Way off-route," he added, carefully gesturing and still nearly knocking something off the shelves thanks to his pack. Why had he brought that again? "And not every Pokémon is friendly, you know." He made sure she caught him looking at the missing hair. "You probably know that."

"That was one of mine. Slugma caught some kind of virus, and one of her sneezes did this." She gave him a look. "Where'd you get that hair done? Here in town?"

"No, over in Sisan," Max replied truthfully, if not mentioning it had been that morning. He also wondered why she was asking. It wasn't anything really special: there were loads of people with dyed hair. "Doesn't Nurse Joy know a place?"

"She gave me two. I'm trying to decide if one is better." A regular inhabitant of the town – probably: he was far too portly and old to be a Trainer out on the road – wanted some bandages as well, and they moved to the side. "You want to do a quick battle outside, after we paid for our things?"

"Just a one on one, if that's okay," Max replied as he grabbed some disinfectant. He still had some that had been left in his pack from… Probably before the Silver Conference, but if he was stocking up anyway. "And in an arena."

"There's one nearby. I'll show it to you." A hand was held out. "I'm Jean."

Oh, _shit_. He needed a name, he needed it fast, and he needed to remember it. "Hugo," he replied, hoping that Jean hadn't noticed the hesitation, and apologising to his Kalosian friend for borrowing the name. "Good to meet you."

"Same. Now, let's go pay."

Twenty minutes later, poliwhirl was victorious over Jean's swellow with some carefully timed blasts of water and a scuffle on the ground. Both Pokémon were pretty dirty, but the Water-type would be fine after a bit of time in a river near where he'd planned to camp out. "That was fun."

"Yeah. Aerial Ace is a good move," Max replied as he returned his Pokémon. "One of your first Pokémon?"

"Third," Jean replied, sounding a bit surprised. "How did you guess that?"

"Taillow are common everywhere here, and you sound like you're from Hoenn."

His opponent laughed, heartfelt too. "You're good. I'm from Mauville. Didn't know if I wanted to do Contests or Leagues at first, so December will be the first one for me. How about you?"

A moment's pause as he decided how much of the truth he wanted to tell. He put on his pack first to get a few more seconds. "Just had my first," Max lied through his teeth. "Johto. Did okay, had fun."

"You're… You're from Hoenn too, right? Why start there?" Jean leaned in. "It's not because of… Those attacks?"

"No. My Dad is from there." He shifted a bit, facing her fully, and keeping the annoyance at the implied assumption in check. She couldn't know. "Thanks for the battle, but… I need to go now. Good luck!"

 **~~§~~§~~**

Four weeks had passed since his house had been destroyed. Now, he was back there, looking over the ruins that had been cleared by police. No untoward things had been found, as expected, though looking over the rubble, Raphael Paulson suspected not much could have been found regardless.

Between the Dragons attacking and the outburst of rage from the gardevoir – triggered by his activation of a disruptor, and counter-triggering a fucking _Mega Evolution –_ there hadn't been much left. An explosive device with enough strength to knock out bearing walls from the middle of the room would have done less damage.

It explained why the phrase 'structurally unsound' had not appeared in the report. There simply was little of the structure left. Some outer walls holding up against the elements and the storms that had come through in the weeks since; some of the carpeted and tiled floors that had not been directly above the basement. No more. Puddles from the rain were everywhere, and the open basement was severely waterlogged.

Rebuilding was going to take a while, and empty his account in the process.

The boy would _pay_ for this.

Now, with hindsight, it was obvious where Reginald had chosen to hide. A blind spot, ruthlessly exploited. It was secretive, naturally reclusive, and with that blasted gardevoir and a xatu, supplies could be attained everywhere nearby. They had likely commandeered the mountain upon arrival at the end of August, and had only left for unknown reasons after a fight on the flanks.

Legends of old told of a ninetales living there. He knew not if it was true, but it seemed the most likely to have occurred. Either that, or a horde of Ghost-types.

And then, to his surprise, some of his men had found Reginald there the night after. They had been defeated, as expected, but one did not make any omelettes without cracking a few eggs.

There were inferences to be made from that encounter. It had been only the former Gym Leader, most likely. This meant that, wherever the teenagers were, they were without their protector. Together, without a doubt. It would be folly to try and search for them, given their mobility, and the skill they had.

An attempt to capture them had worked once, foiled only by what he was increasingly suspecting to have been hostile interference. It was too contrived otherwise: Gary Oak – according to his sources – flying over atop the elder Oak's dragonite? The younger was known to have a fearow for flying transportation, and an alakazam if he needed to be anywhere quick. It was _too_ convenient, which, in this line of work, often meant that there was a leak somewhere. He would have to find out where it could have been.

The actual capture had been fortuitous, and mostly useless as well. He had learned nought from the capture except that Maple was a teenager with uncommon mental strength. The response had been more enlightening.

It had only drawn Reginald and Birch. No Lance, no Ketchum, even no Oak the younger, all of whom were dangerous Trainers, and in conjunction, they could derail plans that had been set in motion.

But grief made weaklings of all, and so the next step in the dance of spies would likely be to lose another home. Maple wanted vengeance: his psych report suggested as much. Birch could likely temper it for a while, and Paulson was counting on that to further advance the contingencies he was planning, but at some point, the dam would break and the Mauville apartment that was his as a member of the Hoenn Parliament would be under attack. And then…

Oh. _That_ was an idea. It could even get the support, or at least tacit aid, of Wattson, who wanted only to protect his beloved city. And he had enough good will built up with some of his colleagues as well. It would have to be done in secret, and as such, it would have to be done inside the Centrists, but… It could work.

It was time to start layering the trap so that even that gardevoir, Mega Evolved or not, could not get the damned boy out of trouble again.

And this time, there would be no mercy. This time, he would _start_ with the torture, and not shy away from the physical either.

Others, Paulson knew, found that distasteful. He had never agreed. The ends, as the pithy saying went, justified the means, and ushering in a glorious new era was an end worth fighting for.

It was worth killing for.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Professor Rowan ended the call, and Professor Samuel Oak sat back in his chair, folding his hands in the now quiet room. A look caused the ambipom to press a button to lock the door. If one of his assistants wanted him, they could knock. He needed quiet to work through what had happened.

The Hoenn Professor wouldn't have done what he had without a reason, which meant there was something being bandied around somewhere that spooked his easy-going colleague enough to send away hundreds and hundreds of Pokémon. What exactly, Oak didn't know, but he had little doubt that he would shortly, should it become relevant. There were myriad options, with the most likely further restricting to the point of effective incarceration even in sanctuaries like the Laboratories and their annexes.

Politicians often forgot that the position was of Pokémon Professor first, and of the location second. Lance and Oak disagreed on several topics, but on the sacrosanctity of Pokémon was one that they were in full agreement, and it kept the local politicians quite docile, even spilling over to Johto despite Elm's reticence to get involved himself.

It begged the question what Steven Stone was doing.

One thing was certain: Maxim hadn't done what he had in response to anything visible. There hadn't been any attack with significant casualties for a few weeks. That meant it was something not immediately apparent, which likely meant the government was involved. Any Professor worth anything had ears in the government or bureaucracy to ferry information, and it was entirely plausible for the Hoenn government to go further and further still. This was obvious even to those who didn't know certain details, such as some newspaper columnist he'd read just the other day.

And like the apocryphal froakie in a boiling pan, most of Hoenn just sat and waited. There were rumblings, and Oak didn't buy the Dark-type Master's acquiescence for a moment either, but they were few. The ones responsible had studied well: whether it be human behaviour or history mattered not.

And yet, Trainers had a knack of ruining things. It had been random Trainers, names scrubbed from most conventional history under witness protection, who had first revealed the Rocket corruption scandal, though few had believed them. It had been regular Trainers that had brokered the peace in the last civil war to rage across the Home Regions; also in Hoenn, close to a century and a half ago. It had been regular Trainers, albeit aided from abroad, who had brought Team Plasma to justice and freed Unova.

It had been a regular Trainer and his friends who had thwarted Team Rocket, Team Aqua, and Team Magma, plus various other escapades.

And now an understudy was proving to head down the same path.

Oak felt a grin tug at the edges of his mouth. Though by conventional definitions, Max was not _really_ an understudy to Ash, he would wholeheartedly agree, and pester the older boy into agreeing as well. He'd seen them play off each other enough.

Their counterparts were the heirs to the Professorships, whose relationship was interwoven with their friends – much as his grandson had denied that Ash was a friend at various points in his life after the friendship had been re-established. Oak had only asked about the specifics of what the two had been up to after Danny had left, but the casual way in which Gary had explained the process through which they'd theorised the limits of the machines had revealed a good rapport between the two of them and astute minds that would serve them both well.

As if he'd needed more proof of that. Last winter had been enough proof of that for Danny, and Gary continued to be a great help with a sharp mind, provided some ego puncturing took place every once in a while.

And now, the two teenagers in Hoenn were apart. This was troubling.

It was easy to identify the one responsible. What was far, far harder was to figure out why Max would leave. What kind of leverage had been wielded against him? Kidnapping seemed unlikely, given that both of them had withdrawn Pokémon and neither poliwhirl nor froslass had caused anything but relief amongst the other Pokémon.

He could ask Sabrina for a loan of a telepathy-capable Pokémon, but if either of them had said not to tell, that would be a waste of time. Though he could conceivably be in luck with the froslass, it was unlikely to work with the poliwhirl. Paranoia on the part of the Trainer would do that.

No, the right thing was to follow from a distance, surreptitiously, and hope that nothing happened to either of them.

And if something had, well… There were at least six Master Trainers Oak knew of who would gladly storm Hoenn.

 **~~§~~§~~**

Serena made sure to smile and wave at the audience after winning her second Johto Ribbon in a month; this one in Catallia City. The first one had come days after she had been pointed at a house randomly being destroyed in Hoenn by some rampaging Dragons; which, she had been told, was a pretty sure sign that Max had been there. He had to have been freed.

It was now three and a half weeks later – for some reason, this Contest was on a _Thursday_ of all days – and since then, she had heard nothing from her friends. No call, sure, she could get that. But no letters either?

It worried her, and it had cost her a few points when her opponent's manectric had used a Flamethrower to great effect. Altaria had done some very ungraceful dodging to get out of the way, but in the end, the Dragon had won out with a nice Mist and Dragon Pulse lightshow that had blinded the opponent for just enough points.

She went back to the dressing room, put her normal clothes back on, and made to leave, but before she could do that, someone else walked in.

"Oh, hey Jess," Serena said, greeting one of her sort-of rivals with a hug, as they normally did. The blonde hadn't participated because one of her Pokémon had gotten ill overnight, putting a damper on her mood, but Serena had seen her in the audience. "One ahead of you again."

"Not for lack of trying," came the suddenly sharp reply, and the Kalosian found herself marched to the bench as a hitmontop closed the door and leaned against it to make sure it stayed closed. "You're distracted. Trouble with your boyfriends?"

"They're not..."

"I know. You've only said it five times," Jess replied, giving her a strange look. "Fun to tease, though, which is why we keep doing it. But is there trouble with them? Because if so..."

Serena folded her arms underneath her breasts. "What makes you think..."

"Girl, it's that or your mother. You're not close enough to anyone else to worry about them enough that you get distracted." The thirteen year old sat down besides Serena. "Just tell me. Please."

"I..." Serena started, but something inside made her stop and think. She did, in silence, until she reached a decision, about a minute later. "We're not doing this here." She stood up, ignoring the hand that Jess put on her wrist. Danny had shown her how to get out of wrist grabs like that after Durocor. "We're doing this in the Center, in my room. Not somewhere anyone can walk in."

That got her a strange look, and some pestering, but she held firm, and half an hour later – after detouring past a corner shop for celebratory ice cream – the two of them sat down in the Pokémon Center. "Okay, now what..."

Jess stopped because Serena sent meowth out. "If someone's coming close, scratch the door," she told her cat, opening the door to let the feline slip out. Then, she closed it again, locking it for good measure. "Okay. I need you to promise something. Promise me you won't tell _anyone._ Not your parents, not Nurse Joy, not Officer Jenny, and… You get the idea."

"Eh… Why's that. You're scaring me, Serena..."

"Just promise," she repeated, realising with a pang that she sounded just like Max needling a promise out of others. "It's not illegal." She thought. "Just… Sensitive, okay?"

"Alright, I promise," Jess replied, looking and sounding a bit unsure. "So… What is it?"

Serena told her. Mostly. Jess didn't need to know about some stuff, but the attack on Danny, Max, and Evan, the kidnapping in the Tree, and the suspected rescue were all relayed without interruptions. "Guess you were right about them worrying me, though," she said after finishing the explanation, but the joke fell completely flat. "Jess?"

"Sorry," the blonde said, shaking her head before getting up and enveloping Serena in a tight, _tight,_ hug. "I get it now."

"You… do?"

"Mostly." Jess sat back down, leaning forward a moment later. "You just want to know if they're okay. To see them, or hear them, or read them. I… I know how that feels."

Serena bit down on her first instinct to dismiss it. Jess wasn't the girl who would exaggerate, and what she said was so true it almost hurt. "What happened?"

"My younger brother. A car. Head injury _and_ badly broken leg," Jess replied softly. "I was eleven. He was eight. It was pretty bad, and Mom and Dad didn't want me seeing him at first." She gave a smile; one that reminded Serena eerily of the older teenagers talking about Max's kirlia in how empty it was. "Had a panic attack after a couple of hours. Never forgot how the waiting felt."

"Is he..."

"Oh, he's fine. Lost a week of memories for a while. Only the accident and the hours after now. Has some huge scars on his left leg that stand out bad." A real grin. "He's an all eleven year old boy now. Immature, likes fart jokes, and thinks the scars are cool as anything."

Memories of her own classmates rushed into Serena's memory, and the plague of whoopee cushions that had gone around school for a month. Or more, but then she'd had her injury. She could believe all of it, much as she'd rather _not_ have remembered that particular aspect of school. "Good to hear he's okay."

"Yep. He got lucky. Head injuries can go wrong pretty badly," Jess replied. "The doctor I talked to said that was why you always had to get checked out by Nurse Joy if you ran into a Psychic-type or a Ghost-type that attacked you. Just in case."

Did… Oh, who was she kidding. Her friends knew that and either didn't care or had weighed the risks. Either one. "That ever happen to you?"

"Yep. When I caught haunter. Or gastly. Confuse Ray going for venonat missed, and it hit me." For some reason, Jess smirked. "He's a big softy. I was trying to capture it, and that Confuse Ray? All it did was make me see stuff in different colours. Everything was purple."

Part of Serena – the part that paid attention to Danny and Max endlessly talking about battles at times – figured out why that was in an instant. "Well, if gastly are purple… Wouldn't that cause him to blend in? Maybe escape?"

"Yep. But that doesn't work against venonat. They don't really see colour I think. And they have those radar eyes." The blonde shrugged. "It did cause me to miss a pokéball because I didn't really see where he was."

"Sounds like it hit the right target by accident."

"One way of looking at it."

There was silence for a minute or so. It was right, but it also felt like the sensitive stuff was done, so Serena stuck a hand in her pocket and got the door key out. Before she could get up, though, Jess grabbed her wrist, gently. "What is it?"

"What told you about that escape?"

"A house being destroyed? Someone told me that was a good sign."

"Serena…" Jess said, and something in her voice made the Kalosian very wary. "Did they tell you whose house it was?"

"No? Why's that matter? They kidnapped Max."

"And deserved everything, yep. But I remember reading that too," her sort-of-rival revealed. "The guy whose house was destroyed was some kind of big politician. It… Serena?"

The brunette had frozen, but her mind was working rapidly. A politician? Danny and Max had been wanted, and then they weren't, but then there was that attack and they had told her that the kidnappers wanted them back in Hoenn. And in Kalos, Team Flare had gone and put moles in place to stop stuff from being investigated, but what if…

What if those weren't needed because the ones who had kidnapped Max were that important?

"Earth to Serena..."

She turned towards Jess, grabbing both of her friend's wrists. "You need to keep this secret," she whispered. "Don't talk about it. Not to _anyone."_

"I promised that?"

"Do it again," Serena demanded. "Jess," she added when her friend hesitated. "This is important. If people know _either_ of us knows, they'll come for us."

"Like… Kidnapping come—"

"Yes."

Eyes widened, and for a moment, the Kantonian struggled to even think, if Serena was any judge. Then, a slow nod. "I won't tell. I promise." Arms were freed. "You need to talk to someone about this."

She should, but calls weren't safe.

A letter it was then. To Professor Oak.

 **~~§~~§~~**

"I don't get it," Max said as he looked at his borrowed necklace, Key Stone glinting in the sun that peeked through the canopy above. "We've been trying this for a week now, and nothing." He looked up at the Pokémon keeping himself levitating just above a rock, for practice. "Okay, not like I've been spending a lot of time thinking, but… We know each other. So… Why am I not thinking of the right thing?"

" _Or perhaps I am not,"_ gardevoir replied with a point so tired Max didn't even want to refute it. _"We will figure it out soon enough."_

"The sooner the better," the teenager muttered, not petulantly at all. "At least manectric's bond will keep me unaffected. Mostly." The Electric-type gave his hand a lick from where she was lying, right next to him, and he returned a quick scratch. "Don't get me wrong, gardevoir, but this sensitivity thing your brother probably saddled me with somehow has its downsides." Like the headaches, ranging from annoying to crippling, in the presence of those disrupting machines.

" _And yet, you would not have it any other way."_

Manectric barked softly in agreement, and Max smiled. "Of course not. Well… I'd rather have him, but… Y'know." He shrugged. "I wonder if Danny's going to ask me to be a test subject or something in a few years."

" _Why?"_ gardevoir asked, and the soft keening from near his left leg agreed with the green-and-white Pokémon.

"Reading between the lines… It's rare in humans. I bet you anything Danny asked around about this. When he says he doesn't really know much about this, I believe him," he reasoned out. "I'm the one who keeps secrets. He wouldn't about this. Maybe he'd not tell me he had asked, but… That's not really a secret if it doesn't really yield any results." Another shrug. "Gonna be honest… It would be cool if this somehow turned into actual Psychic powers."

" _How common are those in humans?"_

"I've run into someone who looked _exactly_ like me, except he was a couple years older, and you ask how common something like this is?" Amusement fluttered past, and there was a canine snort as well. It wasn't the first time he'd brought up the other Max in her presence. "Or how about running into four different Team Flare attacks in eight months, when there were maybe a dozen total across Kalos? Or the _stupid_ amount of Legendaries I've seen?"

" _A point well made, but no answer to the question."_

Max leaned into the tree a bit, satisfied. "One in a million? One in five million? Or more, but people don't realise it? Ash didn't know he could use Aura either, but damn if he wasn't always that bit more persistent, and less injured after a Team Rocket attack, even before." He stretched his arms to the point where he could feel his muscles and tendons. "How many go about it like Danny and his instincts for Doubles? Not that he has Psychic powers. Probably," he added. "But, y'know. Example."

The bark from manectric was almost accusatory, if light-hearted. _"It takes one to know one,"_ gardevoir said, and Max figured it was _probably_ a translation or close enough to one.

They sat in silence for a bit before the teenager got up, causing him to get a few odd looks. "Just checking to see if we need something. We're pretty close to a town, after all."

" _We are?"_ A soft pressure on Max's mind, and he let it happen. _"Is that why you stopped here?"_

"Nah. This just seemed like a nice and secluded spot." He looked around at the natural hollow they were in, with only about a third of it not lined by cliffs about twice as tall as he was. "Reminds me a bit of the place near the Indigo Plateau. The one you had to catch me for when we went to Serena." He gestured vaguely west. "But yeah, town's edge half a mile that way and it's this quiet and peaceful? Great!"

He dove into his pack, but there was plenty of food, enough treats, water to last him a day – and a brook not too far north too – and nothing else really needed to be refilled or bought either. He closed the pack, and made to sit down.

A wave of _pain_ slammed into his back, and his vision went black.

Pain. Hurt. _Everything hurt._ Tearing burning boiling gnashing rending.

 _Rage._

A bond, snapping in place.

Hauled upright. Opening eyes. Meeting red. Seeing himself.

" _They hurt us,"_ he and gardevoir thought in unison. Blood flowed freely from scratches, on Max's face, on gardevoir's arms. Manectric was nowhere to be seen; but reappeared. _"They will pay."_

Rage surged as Max agreed. He wiped his cheeks, hand coming away red. "Let's."

They stepped through the world, reappearing. A white lorry. Two humans. Four Pokémon. One gesture. Three Pokémon went flying, attacks fizzling. Electricity clashed, paralysing static exploding outward. It did nothing, drained of effect.

A Pokémon got up, attempting flame. Max saw. Gardevoir acted.

It hit a high wall, over a hundred feet away, falling out of view.

Another Pokémon got up. It snapped a tree in half, falling out of view.

Electricity stopped inches from Max's face, every exposed hair feeling it. Manectric accepted it. The sender flew up. It met the fourth Pokémon on the way down, and Flamethrower hit them both as they landed.

He heard screaming, yelling, _terror._ He felt it, radiating off of the humans, increasing, spiking. They flew in.

Fear. They reeked of it. The left one; younger, shaven, shaking, started muttering. A prayer. "Arceus, p-protect your faithf—"

Gardevoir cut it off, asking a silent question if he could, and the answer flowed instantly: yes, he should.

They knew nothing important. Find a place, incite an attack. Nothing more, nothing less. It was their second. Left had hidden doubts, deep, deep, _deep,_ down. Right regretted nothing.

He landed with the burned Pokémon. Left fainted naturally, then gasped, brought back. "W-w-w-ww-w-hat d-d-d-do..." _You_ _want_?

What _did_ they want? Ideas swirled, formed and dismissed between the beat of hearts.

A bark and a question. No. No chance for mercy, but an idea formed, adjusted after a thought. "Go to Mead. Talk to the Leader. Tell her what you did," Max said, towering over the quivering human. He landed easily, and at a second thought, a shudder of intense pain tore through the man. "Do it."

And he ran. Stumbling, awkwardly, shaking, but the black-wearing man ran.

They turned attention to the lorry. The doors flew off, one hitting the duo of Pokémon. They walked, floated, padded into machinery, circuitry everywhere. At the end, a tank. Familiar. Rainbow agon— no, that was then. "Free it."

The spoink inside cried weakly as it was lifted into Max's hands. Patches of raw skin; minimum dried blood, drained of most Psychic energy. It lashed against him, unconsciously. It did little; a cut that opened no skin.

Manectric jumped atop a machine, giving the grey Pokémon a soothing lick. Gardevoir levitated a pokéball into view. "For healing," Max told the cradled Pokémon, holding it in one hand. "Your choice."

It reached out, and it was sent to Pallet. Momentary relief, then burning resolve.

Manectric whined, returning herself.

The side of the truck exploded out. They exited; petrol in Max's nostrils, an explosion soon after; contained with ease, if taking time.

Two Pokémon, alive but unresponsive, half-underneath a steel door, burned. One human, quarter-aware, shocked to full and lifted. The bond soared with rage, all-encompassing. _"You,_ " they said in unison. _"You set Pokémon on Pokémon, Pokémon on human. You cause pain. Agony."_

There was no reply, but rage kept building and building.

A bolt of lightning-clear clarity struck Max. What gardevoir wanted. Human morals struggled.

And lost.

"Use Psychic."

 **~~§~~§~~§~~§~~**

 _Cross Hollow, seventy miles east of Mauville, was the site of the latest attack by Psychic-types; the third in the past two months. Yet this time, events did not take place according to what has come to be seen as the norm._

 _Instead of an hour or longer, this lasted perhaps ten minutes, allowing prepared citizens and defenders to hold off the attacks with minimal problems and limited damage. However, just outside the town, a strange sight greeted the assembled inhabitants. A magcargo had been thrown into a large warehouse wall, and approximately ninety yards away, a burning heap of metal had appeared. Police say it is likely this was once a lorry, as evidenced by a pair of doors lying nearby._

 _Moreover, three more Pokémon and one human were found. The human, identity unknown as of printing, had signs of exposure to severe Psychic assault, and the Pokémon had been beaten up thoroughly. One, a furret, had been sent hurtling through a tree, snapping the magnolia clean in half. The perpetrator was nowhere in sight, and nobody witnessed what had happened._

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Apply the right lever, and people are capable of doing terrible things. Such is human nature.

This chapter and the last occur semi-simultaneously, by the way, in chapter-and-scene order. That is to say: the talk in the cave precedes the shopping trip precedes Mt. Pyre, and so on.


End file.
